Realization
by juniorvaristy
Summary: COMPLETE! A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He’s able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She’s falling in love with the guy he’s falling in love with. SLASH
1. Chapter 1: Adam

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the one he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!     **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, and Jordan. 

*****

All I have to say is that she certainly stood out from the crowd. She was short, cute, and definitely _not a preppy bitch. At least she didn't look like one. I guess it was wrong of me to judge her from just looking at her because people thought I was a preppy asshole just by looking at me. But I'm not; at least I'd like to think I'm not. _

            "This is Korienna Smith. She's new here at Eden Hall and I would like you to guide her around. I have given you a pass to leave five minutes early from every class to pick her up from her classes, even if you are in the same class. Do you understand?" Dean Buckley directed me as if I were a small child. I nodded.

            "Yes, sir."

            "Here is a copy of Miss. Smith's schedule," Dean handed me a copy of Korienna's schedule, "Go on before you're late to first period. Here's your pass and here's yours Korienna." 

            "Thank you," Korienna spoke for the first time since I stepped into the room. She had a soft voice and pretty good manners, considering her physical appearance. _'That was mean,' I thought to myself. I smiled at her and led her out of the office. She glanced at the ant farm filled with Brazilian fire ants, from which I had unpleasant memories of, as we passed it on our way out. _

            "You have first period with some of my friends," I observed as I took a look at her schedule. 

            "That's cool."

            "Yeah. So Korienna…"

            "Please, don't call me Korienna," she made a face, "I hate that name. Call me Kori. I don't know what the hell my parents were thinking when they named me that."

            "Okay, sure. Where are you from?" I asked her.

            "New York. Have you lived here all your life?" she asked me. 

            "Yeah, I've lived in the same house all my life too, to tell you the truth. So tell me, what inspired you to streak your hair pink?" I asked her, pointing out her bright pink streaks in her hair. 

            "Truthfully, I don't know. I was going to dye it bright blue, but my friend Jordan refused to let me because his hair's dyed blue. And then when I tried for green, my other friend Shane went and got his hair dyed green before I could even get the idea out of my mouth. So I settled for pink. Besides, I think it suits me better."

            "I think so too," I told her as we reached the math classroom, "Well this is your first period class." I stopped talking as soon as I spotted _him. Kori didn't seem to notice._

            "Thanks. You'll be back five minutes before the end of the period?" she asked me, stepping into the classroom. 

            "Uh…yeah, I'll see you."

            "Great. Um, what's your name?" I didn't answer this time. I totally forgot that she was talking to me because I was busy staring at _him._

            "Hello?!" Kori waved her hand in my face. I snapped out of it.

            "Sorry, what?"

            "What hot girl's got your attention in my math class? Maybe I could set you up?" she teased lightly. I blushed and mumbled, "Nobody."

            "Sure…"

            "Trust me, you don't want to know," I told her truthfully. If she knew who I really liked in that class, she'd hate me forever.

            "Take your time in telling me. It's okay, I'll wait."

            "Right…"

            "See you later!" she walked off to the teacher's desk, smiling.

            "Hey, Banksie!!!" Portman and Fulton came bounding towards to me.

            "Hey guys," I said warily.

            "Look who has the hots for the new girl!"

            "Not a bad choice!" they rallied around me. 

            "Come on, guys. Leave him alone. He has to get to class," _he winked at me and waved, "Later!" _

            "B-bye…" I stuttered, turning and leaving the room as quick as possible without seeming too conspicuous. It was true. I, Adam Banks, had it bad for Charlie Conway. 

***Please Review!***


	2. Chapter 2: Kori

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!     **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, and Jordan. 

Kori's POV

*******

            My first day at Eden Hall wasn't that bad at all. My guide, Adam Banks, is a really nice guy. He's actually really hot too, but there's just something about him that doesn't make me attracted to him at all in _that_ kind of way. He reminded me a lot of Shane and Jordan, two of my best friends from back at home. But his friend, Charlie Conway, now _that was one guy that was totally dateable to me. Although I'll admit that Adam is way hotter than Charlie, I felt like Adam wasn't looking for a girlfriend at the moment. Besides, he was definitely checking out some other girl in my math class my first morning._

            "What kind of teams are there around here anyway?" I asked Adam as he picked me up from the last period of the day, my third day at Eden Hall. 

            "Football, basketball, soccer, track, baseball, swimming, hockey. You know stuff like that," he responded, putting an emphasis on hockey.

            "Well what do _you_ play?" 

            "Hockey."

            "Oh, cool."

            "Do you play any sports?"

            "Well I used to swim and dive until I injured my shoulder. Ever since then, I guess I was too afraid to go back into competition. I took up snowboarding and I love it." 

            "You just…gave up?" I bit my lip, knowing that I shouldn't have told him that.

            "Yeah, I did. I know that sounds horrible, but I just couldn't go back into competitions."

            "It's okay, I understand."

            "Have you ever been snowboarding?" I asked him after a few moments of silence.

            "No, I don't think anyone on the team has."

            "We have to go! It's still boarding season, come on!" I begged.

            "I don't know…it's February."

            "So? Is it still hockey season?"

            "No, it's not. We won regionals a few weeks back."

            "Oh, cool, congrats! So what's the hold-back? Please? It'll be a great experience for the whole team, _please_ Adam?" I pleaded with him, stopping at his locker.

            "Oh come on, Banksie. Just give the girl what she wants!" Charlie came up behind Adam, playfully slapping his shoulder. Adam blushed furiously, which I didn't give any thought to since he was probably embarrassed that his best friend sided with the pink haired freak. 

            "Yeah!" I agreed with him, smiling up at his amazing eyes almost getting lost in them. 

            "You don't even know what she wants to do!" Adam protested. 

Some of Adam's other friends had come by his locker and were listening on curiously, "What does she want to do? You are _not taking our Adam! I plan on having him keep his virginity for a few more years, thank you very much!" a big burly hottie who was in our history class joked._

            "I just wanted to take you all snowboarding," I feigned frightfulness.

            "When? I want to go!" Connie Moreau exclaimed, clinging onto who I assumed was her boyfriend.

            "Fine," Adam sighed after a few minutes of everyone giving him puppy faces, "We'll go."

            "YES!!" Connie, Julie (the other girl in this group of friends), and I squealed together.

            "You're such a gentleman, Adam," I patted his shoulder and ran off to my locker. Images of Charlie and me on the chairlift together raced through my mind and I sighed dreamily, leaning against my locker door. 

            For the next week or so, I got more and more accustomed to life at Eden Hall so Adam stopped picking me up from classes. We still hung-out a lot and I even stayed at their meal-time table. Soon, I felt totally at peace with Adam as if he was my brother, and it was like I was back at home again. Except for the fact that there was only one of him here, instead of two of him like back at home. One night, I was sitting in the courtyard with Adam, who seemed relatively distant that one particular day. I decided that maybe we needed to actually get to know each other better; know more than just each other's favorite colors. Maybe he had the same idea too.

            "So what made you move here?" he asked after a few minutes of silence. I was honestly beginning to worry about him and his quietness. It was the first real sentence he'd spoken to anyone all day. 

            "My parents had a divorce," I told him truthfully, hoping that maybe he'd tell me something too.

            "That sucks."

            "Yeah…Adam?"

            "Hmmm?"

            "Are you alright?"

            "Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

            "You seem a little troubled, like something's bothering you. You haven't spoken much all day and even though you put on that shy, quiet front, I know you can talk like a gossiping girl, Adam Banks!" I added in what little humor I found in the situation. 

            "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired out, that's all."

            "Sure…I may have fallen for that on the first day of school, but I know you better now."

            "What's that supposed to mean?" Good, at least he was talking in complete thoughts now.

            "I know something's up, Adam Banks, and I'm not going to quit until I find out what the hell it is!" 

            "Feeling persistent today, aren't we?" he smiled wryly.

            "I'm not even joking anymore, Adam. Please, you're really worrying me. Are you alright? I mean I know it hasn't been _that_ long since I met you, but you know you can come talk to me about anything you need to talk to me about." Adam looked at me for a moment, hesitation shining in his eyes, before becoming very interested in his hands. Finally, with much unease, he nodded.

            "Yeah, thanks Kori."

            "That's what friends are for, hun," I hugged him platonically, "Now do you want to talk about it?"

There was a moment of uncertainty before he shrugged, "I guess."

            "Just take your time."

Taking in a deep breath, Adam turned to look me in the eye, "Have you ever loved someone so much that you'd do anything to see them happy, even if it meant that you couldn't be a part of their lives, romantically?"

            "No," I said slowly, "No I haven't ever felt that way about somebody."

            "Well, that's how I feel. There's this person that I'm truly in love with; I've never felt this way about anyone ever before. It's such a rush to be around this person, but this person just confessed to me today that there are feelings welled deep inside…for someone else," he finished, sounding heartbroken. 

            "May I find out this person's name?" I asked gently, aching to make him feel better. 

            "I'd rather you didn't…sorry."

            "Okay, it's okay. I don't want to pry or anything. You're entitled to your privacy after all." I never knew such feelings existed before and I wanted to say or _do something to make it up to him, but I didn't know how. All I could do was offer him a shoulder to cry on and apologize profusely for something I didn't even do. And he knew it and all he could do was say that it was okay. But it really wasn't. If only I knew what I was causing…_

***Please Review!!***

**Thanks to all those who _did_ review! I love you all!**

**Bottles: **I love your stories! I just saw one of your Adam agnst…and I love Adam agnst stories so I'm going to go read it as soon as I'm done here. And yes, I love Chadam too!

**Spaz-chick99: **Thanks! I think I will continue…I think I'm getting to like this slash writing stuff!

**Allie: **lol, I'm bringing it! 

**Cake Eater: **Thanks! I love Charlie/Adam together…

**Vinnies-Angel: **I am addicted to your story!! Please update soon! Thanks for reading mine!

**Wari: **Thanks! I think everyone knows who Charlie's going to pick, since I said slash in the beginning, but there's added drama in there. I have this allll planned out, lol.

**No Banksie: **Sorry ff.net didn't work with you! It never works with me either, if that helps you any. Thanks so much for reviewing my story through e-mail!!

**And to anyone else to reviewed before this came onto the screen thingy…THANKS!**

**Huggs and Kisses,**

**Crazy4nc128**


	3. Chapter 3: Charlie

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!     **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, and Jordan. 

Charlie's POV

******

            My first thought of the new girl was, '_Damn, she is hot!'_ I hadn't really had a girlfriend since the whole Linda incident I had with…Linda last month. Trust me, it didn't turn out very well. Every now and then, she'd call and say she wanted to get back together with me, but after everything we've been through, there wasn't any chance that _I wanted to get back together with her. There was a huge doubt in my mind that I, Charlie Conway, would be getting any lady action for awhile. Linda really scarred me and I wasn't even sure if I wanted to date around anymore. Maybe I was destined to stay single all my life. I wasn't really attracted to any of the other girls in school, although some of them were drop-dead gorgeous. But for some reason, I never had the desire to try for one of them except for now. _

            When Kori walked in through the door with Adam trailing her that first day of class, I almost did a double-take. Sure she had bright pink streaks in her hair and sure she wasn't your everyday blonde haired cheerleader or anti-jock activist, but she had this sort of…charisma that got me especially drawn to her. I'll admit that she wasn't as pretty as some of the girls in school, maybe not even as pretty as Linda (A/N: I thought Linda was ugly, by the way. But Charlie was supposedly in love with her in the movie so whatever…). Still, she captivated me. Although I was attracted to her and everything, I kept comparing her to Linda and I had this sinking feeling that Banksie had already gotten to her. But I was wrong.

            One afternoon, about a week after Kori had arrived at school, I caught Adam in his dorm room that he shared with Portman [since they were the last two to (re)join the Ducks]. I knocked on the door cautiously. Adam and I were still on awkward terms, although he had opened up a lot more to the rest of us and especially to me. Ever since Jesse was sent to boarding school, Adam had turned more towards me. I knew we were on our way to repairing our friendship. 

            "Hey Spaz, what's up?" Portman opened, more like flung, the door open. 

            "Nothin' much, Portman. Is Adam around?" I asked as he stepped aside and let me in. 

            "Yeah. He somehow got me convinced to study! Imagine that!" I laughed and looked around the room finding our resident cake-eater doing something that only he and maybe Julie Gaffney would do: studying. 

            "Adam…" I approached him, jokingly being cautious.

            "Oh, hey Charlie," Adam snapped his head up from whatever he was scribbling in and slammed the book shut, breaking his pencil point. 

            "Can I ask you a question?" 

            "Um…okay…" he seemed a little uneasy. 

            "Why are you studying on a Friday night…_before_ dinner?"

            "Because I have nothing better to do…" he trailed off looking at me, still uneasy. I wondered why I made him so nervous. It wasn't like I was going to do anything to him anyway; everything was in the past. I thought he knew that already. 

            "Let's go," I pulled him out of his chair, knocking it over, and dragged him to the door, "See you later Portman!"

            "Wait a minute! W-Where are we going?" he asked quietly, pulling his arm away from me. 

            "We need to talk," I stated simply. Portman nodded his head in agreement, but Adam didn't see that.

            "We do? What about? Why can't we talk with Portman here?"

            "Because it doesn't involve me," Portman told him gently, more gently than I would've managed. It's hard to believe, but Portman can be gentle so shut up and leave him alone. As he passed me on the way to the bathroom he whispered, "Please talk to him. I'm getting to worry about his quietness." I smiled and whispered back.

            "I'll try," then turning to Adam and grabbing his arm once again, "Let's go!" Before he could protest, he was already out the door and pulled against me (by accident), courtesy of yours truly.

            "That didn't hurt too much did it? Look! I didn't even pull on your hurt hand! I'm a genius!" I joked as Adam took a step back hastily. 

            "Sure," he mumbled, "Great job." It was quiet and uncomfortable as we walked back to my room where I knew we'd have privacy since Guy was out trying to fix things with Connie. They had a little fight before the school year started and made up, but things were still shaky and they both wanted to make it better. I don't know, something like that. When I had a relationship like that, I would be happy. 

            "What did you want to talk about?" Adam asked, sitting on Guy's bed. 

            "First of all, what's wrong with you?" I demanded without hesitation.

            "Me? There's nothing wrong with me!" he protested, not meeting my eyes. I knew he was lying, but I also knew that Adam Bradley Banks wouldn't budge until he wanted to. Sighing, I shook my head.

            "I know that's not true. But since I actually want to keep one of my best friends today, I'll let that one slide. This time," I emphasized the 'this time', "So anyway, you know Kori?"

            "I would think so…why?" he asked, seemingly back to the old Adam again. I guess we were in a comfortable topic for him, which seemed weird because Banks had never had a girlfriend in his life. I wasn't sure if it was because he was shy or because he just wasn't interested. 

            "Are you after her or anything, man?" I didn't want to be stepping into his territory if he really liked her since I probably didn't like her as much he did anyway. And because if he _did, _I could set them up and say that _I_ helped Adam get his first girlfriend! 

            "No!" he looked alarmed, as if he had a secret that he wanted to tell, but couldn't. I shrugged it off.

            "Oh, really?"

            "Why?"

            "Because if you were, I could get you your first girlfriend?"

            "Does she like me?"

            "How should I know? You're the one that talks to her the most! But I have to say, she is _hot!" Adam paused for a minute, eyes downcast. Finally he sighed, "Do you want me to talk to her?" I'm sure my eyes lit up and I'm sure I looked like a little kid, but I didn't care._

            "You will?"

            "If you want me to…"

            "YES! You are the coolest! Thanks so much! I love you!" I exclaimed in all my happiness. Adam smiled wryly and muttered something close to, "If only that were really true…" But I didn't think anything of it. I must have heard wrong anyway since I was deliriously happy. Adam nodded at me and left, head down and I thought I heard a sniffle. Did he really like this girl and was only trying to make _me happy? My balloon of happiness sailed down and I knew I had to do _something_ to make it up to him. But how?_

**Thanks for all the reviews! Please review this one!**

**WeBuiltThisCityOnRockAndRoll: **lol, my computer does that to me all the time. It pisses me off! But anyway, thanks for the long review. I'm glad you find my story funny (and I don't mean that in a sarcastic way) and I'm glad you're reading it. You might start to not like it at the end though. I like eggs too. =)

**Wari: **Adam and Charlie _belong_ together…everyone knows that! But there have to be complications along the way or else there wouldn't be a story! Thanks for reviewing! I feel bad for Adam too and I'm writing this…I'm so mean.

**Spaz-chick99: **Glad you're lovin' it! I was so nervous that no one would like it! 

**Thanks to anyone else who reviewed, but didn't show up yet or anyone who's computer's like mine and WeBuiltThisCityOnRockAndRoll's and won't work! Thanks!**

**Huggs and Kisses,**

**Crazy4nc128**


	4. Chapter 4: Adam

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!     **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, and Jordan. 

Adam's POV

***

            _I had another fight with my dad today. It's been happening more and more as the weeks and months pass. Maybe it has something to with the fact that I just don't want to deal with the pressures of hockey anymore. I just want to be a normal kid sometimes, without having to worry about the fucking scouts at the fucking hockey games all the time. I'm fourteen, dammit! Fourteen is too young to be playing major or even minor league anyway, so why does it matter? Maybe if I were a junior or a senior I'd understand why my father wants the scouts to see me so bad. But I'm still a freshman! So what if I purposely demoted myself back down to JV? The season's over and I want out until next season! Sure, I'll agree to practice here and there during the off-season since I want to be in shape and all, but what's t he point of practicing for hours on end if it's just going to make me tired and not able to actually play during the real__ season? I tried to tell my dad that, but he never listens…_

_            Then there's Charlie. I don't know what to do about him. Part of me just wants to scream out my confession of love to him, but the other part of me wants to keep that a secret just in case he's not gay too. What's the probability that a hot man like himself is interested in guys? Besides, he went out with Linda already so I don't have much of a chance, do I? I should've given up a long time ago-_

            That was when Charlie walked into my dorm room and Portman let him in. Honestly, rooming with Portman isn't that bad. I'm not as scared of him as I used to be. We talk a lot and sometimes I've come close to telling him about my undying love for Charlie. So lately, I've just stopped talking about that kind of stuff with him and letting Portman do all the talking. It's easier that way anyway. 

            When Charlie told me about his crush on Kori, my fears were confirmed. I knew I'd never have a chance with him and I'd have to let him go. The best I could do for him was to get him together with Kori so he could be happy. When he talked about her, he got this look in his eyes that I longed to see for me. At first, I have to admit that I was mad at Kori. But I couldn't blame her. She was really sweet and she was willing to listen to me bitch about my father, which was something I knew that was hard to bear. In all my heartbreak and anger at the situation, I couldn't find anyone to blame it on except myself. How was I so stupid to even _consider_ the fact that Charlie even _thought_ about going out with another man, let alone actually wanting to. I beat myself up for it the whole day on Saturday.    

            In the morning, I got up later than Portman did, which was very unusual for me. Portman was actually shaking me awake so I wouldn't miss lunch. 

            "Adam, you okay dude?" he looked at my worriedly.

            "I'm fine, really. I'm just really wiped from an argument I had with my dad." That wasn't entirely untrue.

            "Just take it easy, man. Your father isn't worth fighting with."

            "Yeah, I guess…" I quickly showered and threw on some of my trade-mark 'cake-eater' clothes. Checking myself in the mirror, I sighed and just left without fixing my hair. 

            "Whoa…Banksie's hair is…normal!" Guy teased as I sat at the table. Normally, I would laugh and come up with some comeback, but that particular day I was exhausted and still aching from the conversation with Charlie the night before. I refused to let myself even look in his direction since I'd spent the whole night trying not to make my sobs heard to Portman, who'd definitely inquire if he saw me crying. What made everything harder was that I became really good friends with Kori and she always sat at our table. So when she plopped down in her seat next to me, brushing pink and chocolate brown hair away from her face, I tensed up. 

            "Now all we have to do is get Adam to wear normal clothes and he'll be out of his cake-eating phase!" Charlie exclaimed triumphantly. I didn't look at him or anyone else sitting near him. I shrugged and turned to Kori, "Want?" I offered her part of my brownie that I suddenly lost all appetite for. 

            "Um, sure, thanks!" she took it from me, eyeing me strangely. 

            "Yup," I nodded, turning back to my food. For the next fifteen minutes, I listened to everyone talk about how excited they were about snowboarding. It wasn't that I didn't _want_ to go with Kori because I did. It was just that I wanted time to be alone and regroup by myself. Hockey season had just ended, giving me time to catch up with myself and especially when I needed to get over someone, I wanted to be alone. 

            "Earth to Adam!" Kori shook my shoulder gently. 

            "What?" I snapped back to the present, realizing that I had just missed everything.

            "Are you okay?"

            "Yeah," I raked my hand through my unruly hair that I desperately wished I had gelled. I also wished everyone would stop asking me if I was okay. If they didn't, I might have to tell them. Which wouldn't be good at all, "What?" I asked again.

            "We were just talking about when we could go snowboarding. Does next week sound okay for you?" Julie asked me, smiling slightly. Rumor had it that she had a crush on me, but I couldn't tell. Don't get me wrong, I like Julie; she's a really cool person. But I didn't have the heart to tell her that I wasn't interested in her so I pretended that I never heard such rumors. 

            "Great!" I faked cheerfulness and excused myself from the table, giving a lame-ass excuse that I had to do my homework. 

            The only person that knew I was gay was my brother. He never said anything to our parents and he didn't hold it against me at all, which was why I confided in him the most. Brad was a sophomore in college at Georgetown College, a private university in Washington D.C. He himself was straight and was totally in love with a girl from school. He couldn't get her though. It must be a curse of the Banks or something. Our parents seemed to be the only ones who found love. And it wasn't really love on that note. It wasn't like they fought, but they didn't exactly talk either. 

            "Hello?" Brad picked up when I called him.

            "Hey, it's me."

            "Oh hey little bro, what's up?"

            "Nothing, are you doing anything right now?"

            "Other than schoolwork? Not at all. Why?"

            "Because I really need someone to talk to."

            "Uh-oh…what's wrong?"

            "First of all, dad won't stop bugging me, but what else is new about that?" I heard Brad snort at the other end of the line so I continued, "Charlie's interested in some other girl."

Brad was silent for a minute, then he spoke, "I'm sorry. I don't know what to tell you. I honestly thought for sure that he'd be gay too. I mean…I don't mean to offend you, but he _does_ have some gay qualities…"

            "I'm not offended. How does he have gay qualities?"

            "Well, they're not gay qualities. It's not like I can tell or anything. I didn't even imagine that you were homosexual until you told me. But anyway, I just had this feeling. Like you two were meant to be together. I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten your hopes up or anything when I told you that."

            "I don't know…the thing is, the girl that he likes happens to be one of my really good friends. And he wants me to help set them up."

Brad let out a breath, "That's a tough one. I can't say that I've ever been in your shoes, Adam. What do _you_ want to do? I want you to be happy and if setting them up isn't going to make you happy, you shouldn't do it. I don't want to see you hurting…" he trailed off. I felt a surge of love for my brother because he wanted to protect me from everything. He wanted to help me, but he couldn't. But he tried. And I really loved him for that. 

            "But the thing is…I really want them to be happy!" 

            "It's your choice, Adam. Just don't hurt yourself, okay?"

            "Okay…How's it going with Amber?" I asked him, switching to _his love problem._

            "Not much better, that's all I have to say. I don't want to rush into anything because she might hate me. She doesn't know that I'm totally in love with her and she doesn't seem to notice that I'm around half the time."

            "It's different, isn't it? Aren't girls usually all over you?"

            "I don't notice. But if they are, this one isn't."

            "That sucks."

            "Yeah, listen, I have to go study for a test. Good luck with Charlie and come talk to me whenever you need to. I'll be here for you."

            "Thanks." We hung-up and I finally picked up my history textbook, starting on a project that I should have started days ago. At least I had the rest of the day to catch up. 

            Every night since Kori first started at Eden Hall, I'd been going on walks with her just to get to know each other. After I stopped guiding her around, we couldn't break the tradition so we took the walks as time to vent about things that were bothering us or something like that. Usually, I told her everything that was bothering me, from the rumors about Julie liking me to my grades in school. But this one particular night, I couldn't bring myself to tell her about Charlie. About me. I was afraid that she'd hate me forever. So I stayed quiet. That is, until I confessed that I was madly in love with someone. I was just glad she didn't pry and repetitively ask about who it was. That's what I liked best about Kori. She cared, but she also gave you your needed space. 

            "Do you like anybody?" I asked her after awhile. 

            "I'm not really sure. Sometimes I think I do, but other times I don't think I do. It's not as big as your love for the unknown person. But you have to start at someplace, right?" she joked, trying to ease us out of silence. 

            "Yeah, I guess. I don't want to pry or anything, but who?"

            "It doesn't matter to me if you know or not. It's not that big of a…crush I guess."

            "So you admit you like him?"

            "More than I'd like to admit it," she tilted her head up to look at me, "I think I like Charlie Conway more than I'd like to say, Adam." I swear my heart skipped a few beats there. I didn't know what to tell her. I was totally in love with Charlie Conway.

            "Is it a growing love for him or just some silly crush?" I asked carefully, trying not to give myself away.

            "I'm not totally sure, but I'll keep you posted," she smiled, "But if you don't mind me saying, you're incredibly hot too." I blushed furiously, glad that it was dark.

            "Thanks…you're not so bad yourself."

            "Thanks. Sometimes I wonder why you don't have girls swarming all over you. I see a few eyeing you in the halls, though. I think Cole's girlfriend was looking at you with that look that we all get when we see an incredibly hot guy walk by."

            "I hope you saw wrong. If that really was Cole's girlfriend, I'll be dead by next week."

            "I don't think so," Kori laughed, "she might kick his ass into next month if he tried to hurt you."

            "Where do you hear all this stuff?" I asked her, suddenly interested as to how many girls had a crush on a man they couldn't ever get because he didn't even like girls in the first place.

            "I'm a girl, I have girl connections. Duh, Adam!" she imitated a typical cheerleader girl accent (A/N: I 'm sorry to offend cheerleaders. I know MD is very stereotypical of cheerleaders). 

            "So who else likes me?"

            "A lot of girls, Adam. Trust me, if I had to list them all, I'd be walking around with you all night."

            "I have time."

            "You may, but I know I don't."

            "Why? Dreaming about Charlie?" I teased good-naturedly. But deep down inside, my heart was ripping in half. Why was I even provoking her dreaminess about Charlie? Why was I doing this to myself? _'Because you're an idiot. And because you're hopelessly in love, stupid!' _

***Thanks for the reviews! Please push the pretty purple button and review!! Pretty please with sugar on top?***

**Wari: **I know, Jesse and boarding school doesn't fit, but I thought of it out of the blue. I hope you don't start going into widthdrawl symptoms…I tried my best to update as soon as possible!! NOOOOO I NEED YOU!!!! =p

**Kelly: **Hey! The Portman thing is coming up next and you read my mind!!!! I have something in mind for Kori AND for the Portman thing…urgh…you mind reader…lol thanks for reviewing!

**Cake Eater: **HAHAHAHAHAHA!! _"omg kori is such a hottie and i wanna bang her_" I love that! But I know what you mean, Charlie's a stupid moron here…oh well. It's more fun this way!! Thanks for reviewing! 

**And to anyone else who has problems w/ fanfiction.net like me and couldn't review the chapter, I know some of you are out there…THANKS!**

**Huggs and Kisses,**

**Crazy4nc128**


	5. Chapter 5: Portman

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!     **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, and Jordan. I probably own Fulton's girl too, but she's not really featured in this story. 

Portman

***

            It seemed to me as if everyone had something to say about Kori Smith, myself included. I liked her; she's really nice and pretty hot too. But other than that, I have nothing more to say about Kori. Everyone else made a big deal about her presence at Eden Hall, especially the rest of the Ducks. Personally, I didn't see why. Guy said that she was hot and Connie said she was ugly, but kind. I don't even think Connie's opinion was honest. At least she was nice to Kori. Luis said that she was really smart and Russ predicted that she was a city girl. Fulton, who found a girlfriend by the way, said she was his girlfriend's room-mate and liked her a lot. Julie thought she was very outgoing and positive and Goldberg told me she was a regular customer at his mom's restaurant. Averman and Dwayne thought her hair was too bright, but that she was pretty nice otherwise. Ken felt that she was very nice and very open to everything. So maybe everyone's opinions were similar, but I didn't think they needed to voice them so openly.

            Charlie was in love with Kori, that much was readable. He stared at her with this intensity that could probably melt chocolate on a freezing day. Adam was pretty stoic most of the time, but he's been pretty quiet ever since Kori came to Eden Hall. Everyone gets the impression that Adam is the quiet Duck, but he isn't really that quiet at all. When you give him time to relax and let loose, he can be pretty loud and wild. But lately, he's been subsided and he's grown very…to himself. I don't know if it's because he likes Kori more than everyone thought he did or because of something else. Sometimes, I think he's staring at Charlie. But then again, it could be just my eyes. On the other hand, he's never actually had a real girlfriend before. _'Stop it! It's not doing Adam any good if you're just sitting here so get your fat ass up and talk to him for God's sake!' _I yelled at myself. Sighing, I picked myself up from the desk where I was sitting and jumped into the shower. The talk would have to wait. Adam was out right now and besides, I reeked of sweaty hockey player. 

            After a refreshing shower, I sat at my desk, drumming my fingers on the table and waiting for Adam to get home. I was dead set on having this talk with him. It was obvious that Charlie was too much in love to care about his best friend's feelings, not that I was blaming Charlie for anything. It was just that sometimes, Charlie got his priorities a little mixed up.

            "Bored much?" Adam startled me out of my daze as he entered the room, dropping onto his bed.

            "Yeah, man. I don't know what to do," I responded as calmly as possible.

            "What? You're not hanging out with Fulton tonight?" Actually, Fulton was out with his girlfriend. 

            "He's out."

            "That sucks. Well, while you sit here and…do what you're doing, I'll go shower. We'll watch a movie or something. This is unbelievable. We must be the biggest dorks on campus, sitting around on a Friday night!"

            "Yeah," I laughed, "Go take your shower Banksie. _I'll _do the movie shopping." He smiled wryly and stepped into the already fogged up bathroom from my shower, closing the door behind him. I absently shuffled through our limited movie collection while Adam was in the shower. It consisted of movies that I'd brought from Chicago, Adam brought from Edina, and some movies that were left here by our friends from previous movie nights. Randomly, I chose _Patch Adams_ from the mix and popped the movie in. Quickly, I ran down to Fulton's room that he shared with Ken; I had a spare key. I rummaged around his stuff until I could find a bag of un-popped popcorn. I somehow managed to pop it and run back to our room just as Adam stepped out of the bathroom clad in plaid pants and a white t-shirt, similar to what I was wearing. 

            "What movie?" he asked.

            "_Patch __Adams. We have popcorn!" I held the bowl of popcorn up in triumph and Adam grinned.  We settled down on the floor to watch the movie. But I had other intentions. I was going to find out what was wrong with Adam and I was going to find out now. I was never much of a conversation starter so it would be hard to start now. Taking in a deep breath, I formed the words in my head. _

            "Dude, what's wrong with you?" NO! That was _not_ the way it was supposed to come out! After seeing the look on Adam's face, I quickly corrected myself, "Man, I didn't mean that. I meant, are you okay? You seem out of it lately." There, that was better.

            "Nothing, I'm fine! Why does everyone ask me that?" he threw his hands up in frustration. Okay, I didn't mean to send an already stressed Adam into even more distraught. 

            "Because we care, dude," I told him truthfully, "And besides, you're never this quiet around us. Does is have to do with Kori?"

            "No! Not at all, Kori and I are just friends. Besides, she likes Charlie." His eyes widened when he said that. I guess he wasn't supposed to tell anyone. 

            "Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

            "Thanks, Portman."

            "So? Come on, you can tell me!"

            "No, I really don't think I can."

            "Why not? It can't be that bad!"

            "It really can be!" he looked almost scared of me; of everything. The guy with the red nose on the movie screen had already been disregarded.

            "Come on, Adam. What is it?"

            "I can't tell you. Really, I can't." The thought hit me suddenly. What if he was dying of some disease? I had to get it out of him!

            "Please Adam? I won't do anything! Really!"

            "No, please, Portman. You won't be able to look at me anymore when you find out!" he looked genuinely scared. 

            "Adam. Sit down, calm down, and listen to me." He sat on the bed, took in a few deep breaths, and looked at the floor.

            "Are you listening?" I asked him, speaking as if I was talking to a lost puppy.

            "Yeah," he mumbled.

            "What is wrong?"

            "It's just…" he paused for a second, "I really want something I can't have. And it hurts more than anything in the world." I stop for a minute, taking in what he just said.

            "What do you mean?" I was confused. He got everything he wanted. All the girls at school were all over him, his parents gave him everything, he was star center of our hockey team. What more could he possibly want?

            "There's this g…person."

            "Oh, I get it! But all the girls like you!" I exclaimed, not knowing that I had said the wrong thing. Tears soon welled up in his eyes and I wondered what I'd said. 

            "I don't like girls, I'm gay!" 

***Please Review! Thank to all the people that _did_ review!***

**Eternity: **thanks! I know what you mean, I'm going to try and drag out Charlie's realization because that's the whole point of the story…hehe…oops did I just give that away?

**Spaz-chick99: **soon enough I hope!

**Geometrygal: **haha…you must really hate me now for leaving you like that.

**Cake Eater: **yeah, I don't like how he's so mean in the other stories so I made Brad nice =)

**Wari: **It's okay…Adam still appreciates the sympathy. =)

**Duckslover99: **its okay, I understand. Thanks a lot for sticking with my other one! No one seems to like it!

**Kelly: **You're right again about Kori. I had to make a likeable female character…I just had to. Hehe

**I forgot the name of this person but she/he said something like "more. Update. Now. I'm not asking. I'm demanding." THANKS! **It didn't show up on the review screen and I lost the email that ff.net gave me.

**THANKS TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO REVIEWED OR READ THE STORY AND COMP WON'T WORK WITH THEM!!!! Love you!**

**Hugs and kisses,**

**Crazy4nc128**


	6. Chapter 6: Adam

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!     **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, and Jordan. I probably own Fulton's girl too, but she's not really featured in this story. 

Adam

***

            Silence. That's all there was; absolute silence. What was Portman going to do to me? Frantically searching the room for some sort of escape, I jumped up from the floor and raced for the door. I yanked it open and slammed it behind me. Impulsively, I raced towards Charlie's room. _'No, stupid. What are you going to tell him?' Turning around, I ran towards Kori's room. _'Now what are you going to tell her?' _I was stuck. There was nowhere I could possibly go without letting my secret out. I needed to get to a phone. I had to tell my brother what was going on; he'd know what to do. It was a good thing no one was out in the halls because they would have seriously considered calling in the people with the straitjackets to come after me. I quickly dialed my brother's dorm room up at his college campus. _

            "Hello?" someone picked up.

            "Hi, is Brad there?" I asked shakily, hoping the person on the other end didn't notice.

            "No he's out for the night. Who is this?"

            "It's Adam."

            "Oh, hey Adam! It's Nelson." Nelson was Brad's best friend and room-mate. 

            "Hey. Could you tell Brad to get back to me?"

            "Sure, are you okay dude? You sound a bit distressed."

            "I'm fine, I have to go." We hung-up and I recklessly ran through the halls. Where was I running to? The only thought that raced through my mind was what Portman must have been thinking. My legs led me to Kori's dorm again, where she conveniently opened the door at the exact moment I passed by.

            "Adam?" she asked.

            "Hey, what's up?" I tried being calm, but you tell me how you can be calm when you're biggest secret had just been uncovered and it was a Bash Brother that uncovered it. 

            "Are you alright?"

            "Y-yeah I'm fine." I ran my hand through my unruly hair over and over again, a nervous habit that I had yet to break. Without saying a word, Kori pulled me into her room and shut the door. 

            "No, you're not fine. Tell me what's wrong." She sat me on her bed. 

            "Nothing, really. I'm fine."

            "Uh-huh…sure…"

            "Please, Kori. I'm fine!"

            "Listen Mr. I'm always fine, I know something's bothering you and as a friend, I want to know what. I'm really worried about you, Adam."

            "Everyone's worried about me, but really, I'll be okay. You don't need to worry."

            "Yes I do! Charlie told me about how you hid your sprained wrist from everyone during the Junior Goodwill Games and what makes you think that I don't think you'll do it again?" There was his name. Charlie. It was all that echoed through my mind. I had to get out of there or I'd slip. Big time. And I couldn't do that, especially not in front of Kori. 

            "Look, you're one of my best friends, Kori," I told her, "And you're right. I'm kind of upset about something. But trust me, if I could tell you, then I would." Before she could say anything, I raced out the door. 

            "Aren't we the speedster tonight? You might have to strip Luis of that title," Portman chuckled as I flew out of Kori's room.

            "Portman! Hi…what's…up?" I asked him, trailing off and shrinking back against the wall. Luckily, Kori was still in shock after what I told her so she didn't open the door. Portman gently pushed me in the direction of our dorm, "I'm not going to do anything, calm down."

            "Are you sure? Because I'm ready…"  

            "I'm positive. We just need to talk."

            "We do?"

            "Yes, we do." I was starting to get paranoid. What was he going to say to me? My life was over! I'd have to switch schools, maybe move out of town. I wondered if Brad could hide me in his dorm until my dad calmed down. That would probably take a long time…

            "ADAM!" Portman yelled as he sat me down on my bed.

            "What?!" I jumped, startled.

            "Sorry, dude. You were zoning out on me."

            "It's okay…"

            "I'm not mad, if that's what you're thinking."

            "Oh no, I wasn't thinking that! Not at all!" But I was. 

            "Okay…listen, do you need to drink something?"

            "No, I'm fine." I noticed that Portman had turned the movie off, but the popcorn was right where we'd left it. Or at least where I left it. He sat down on his bed, facing me.

            "I just wish you'd told me sooner."

            "You do?" He was taking this a lot better than I'd expected him to take it. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all. I freaked out for no reason. Thinking back on it, my little crazy spell was kind of stupid. Portman was my room-mate and friend; why would he beat me up for being gay? He may have been a Bash Brother, but he was no bigot. 

            "Yeah," his voice snapped me back to reality, "It would have made things a lot easier, you know. So who do you like?"

            "You promise you won't tell?"

            "I promise. Let's see…is it Scooter?" 

            "No…why would I like Scooter?"

            "I don't know, I thought maybe your stint on Varsity got you closer to Scooter."

            "He's cute," I admitted, "But we were friends. Besides, he kept talking about Julie."

            "It's a good thing Julie doesn't know about you, she'd be so disappointed. Anyway, is it Fulton?"

            "No."

            "Luis? Averman? Goldberg? Dwayne? Jesse? ME?!"

            "No, no, definitely no, no, no, and NO!"

            "Then who?"

            "The only male you haven't guessed yet."

            "Charlie?" he asked in a small voice. I couldn't respond; I just nodded. Portman let out a breath. 

            "That's a tough one," he agreed, "You're best friends with Kori and she likes Charlie."

            "Charlie likes her too. That's what makes this whole thing even harder. Kori's a great friend and I love her like a sister. It's just that she really likes Charlie and Charlie really likes Kori too. It's pretty obvious he's in love with her. I can tell Kori _everything_, things that I wouldn't even tell Jesse and things that only Brad would know. Everything except this. I can't stand to break her heart and I don't want to lose her friendship." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. It wasn't so bad to talk about this once you got started.

            "But if Kori's really your friend, she wouldn't care that you were gay," he pointed out. 

            "That's not what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid that if I tell her, we'll get into competition for Charlie. And I _know_ she'll win because Charlie likes her a lot."

            "You don't know that."

            "Yes I do! She's the only thing that he talks about whenever I'm with him and there are so many times when I just want to scream my confession to him. But I never do. I just want Charlie and Kori to be happy. And if the love of my life and my best friend will be happy together, I guess I could live with that." 

            "You couldn't," Portman spoke my inner feelings, "I can see it in your face. You love him that much. I think you should tell Kori first if anything. She deserves to know the truth and you deserve to let her know." He had a point, but what was I going to say to her? Oh yeah, I happen to be in love with the same person you're in love with! I'm sure that would go over real well with her. 

            "Don't worry about it. You look like you need some sleep. Go to bed, we'll talk in the morning," Portman advised. I nodded and got under the covers.

            "And Adam?"

            "Yeah?"

            "My lips are sealed." He repeated from before. I smiled slightly, "Thanks."

            "That's what friends are for." And I thanked God that Portman was my friend.

*~*~*~*~

            The next morning, I woke-up feeling a tiny bit better than I had the day before. The heavy feeling in my heart was still there, as it was every morning. Now I knew what it felt like to be heartbroken. The movies didn't portray it even _half as bad as it really was, but then again, I guess they weren't supposed to. Slowly crawling out of bed, I noticed that the bathroom door was closed, which meant that Portman was already up. I stumbled to my closet and pulled out khaki pants and a regular blue t-shirt. The team was in for a surprise today; I didn't feel like buttoning up shirts or dealing with the collar of polos. Instead, I snagged a flannel shirt from the hangers and slipped that on over the t-shirt. _

            Portman gave me an encouraging nod when Kori knocked on the door. I knew why she was there and I knew she'd be pissed off that I snapped at her the night before. Cautiously and with some fear, I opened the door. Sure enough, there was Kori. But she wasn't as pissed as I expected her to be. When she saw me, she punched me, not hard, in the stomach.

            "That was for worrying me last night, you asshole," she told me calmly closing the door behind her, "But since I love you so much, I'll try not to hurt you."

            "Sorry," I told her sheepishly. 

            "I don't mind. Just never _ever_ pull something stupid like that before. I thought you had a life-threatening disease or something! You don't, do you? Are you okay?"

            "I'm fine. I was just freaking out last night." Kori hugged me fiercely, tears dropping onto my shirt. I felt really bad for scaring her like that.

            "Don't _do stuff like that, Adam! I thought you were dying and I was hysterical crying all night. When Yolanda came back from her date with Fulton, she thought I'd hurt myself or something. She called Fulton who called Portman and said you were sleeping soundly. I wanted to kill you and kiss you at the same time!"_

            "I'm sorry," I took in the scent of her hair. I wished I had a sister like her, that cared like she did.

            "That's what happened to my brother," she whispered, "He told me something quickly over the phone and then hung-up. Two hours later, the police called and said he was dead. You remind me so much of my brother. I can't let you do that to me or yourself. I'm here when you need me, Adam."

            "I know," I pulled away from her, "I think I'm ready to talk. It's really hard for me. Can we go somewhere private?"

            "Yeah, of course." We left my room, Portman giving me a secret thumbs-up before I shut the door. This wasn't going to be easy and I hoped that Kori would understand. 

***Thanks for the reviews! Please review this one!***

**Spaz-chick99: **hehe, does that answer your question about Portman? 

**Vinnies-Angel: **lol, well ff.net never works with me! I tried reviewing your story like 50 times before it finally got through…grrr…well I hope this is soon enough for you; I tried very hard!

**Chelsea****: You are definitely on a roll, girl! I have never had anyone quote from my stories…I have to say it's really amusing to read. Thanks!**

**Geometrygal99: **I wrote as fast as I could, between homework and swimming and piano. Dude…I'm proud of myself! Lol, I hope you liked this chapter!

**WeBuiltThisCityOnRockAndRoll: ** I know! His bro is my dream bro…that's why I made him up =) 

**Thanks to everyone else who read my story and couldn't review or anyone who _did review and it didn't show up yet!_**

**Huggs and Kisses,**

**Crazy4nc128**


	7. Chapter 7: Kori

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!     **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, and Jordan. I probably own Fulton's girl too, but she's not really featured in this story. 

Kori

***

            Worried. And scared. My only two feelings as Adam and I walked out to the bench we always sat at in the courtyard were worry and fright. What if he _did have some dreadful disease? What if he was moving and transferring out of the school? What would I do? Out of all the Ducks, Adam was the only one who really talked to me at all and even though they were all nice, I knew some of them didn't like me too much. Of course there was Charlie who was really sweet to me and stuff, but it wouldn't be the same if I didn't have anyone to talk to about my meetings with Charlie. And Adam was _always_ there for me. What would I do without him? _'Okay, breathe Kori, breathe. It's okay, he's probably just really stressed out about his family or something. He's not going anywhere, right? Right.'_ _

            "I don't know where to start," Adam said, shifting around nervously as he took a seat on the bench. 

            "It's okay, take your time," I assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He needed to calm down before he could say anything.

            "Okay," he exhaled and slowly took in another breath, "I don't know how to tell you this the right way…"

            "Tell me what?"

            "Listen. Kori, you're definitely my all-time best friend right?"

            "That's not even a question!"

            "Okay, true; dumb question. But if I told you something horrifying, something that would totally gross you out, something about _me that no one except my brother and Portman know, would you still like me?"_

            "Adam, if you told me you had fungus growing on your back, I'd still like you. It doesn't matter to me as long as you're the same person as you were before you told me."

            "Are you sure?"'

            "Tell me before I die of curiosity, Adam!!"

            "It's not easy, give me a few minutes."

            "I can give you a few hours if you need it."

            "How about a few days?"

            "No, sorry can't do that one."

            "Fine," he sighed. This conversation was going nowhere. I sat there next to him as he thought about his words. Thoughts from moments before crossed my mind and I was afraid to hear what he had to say. I think an hour must have passed before Adam spoke again.

            "I know you like Charlie a lot," he started slowly, "And all I want is for you to be happy. It's just that since you're my best friend, you deserve to know the truth."

            "The…truth about what? Is Charlie really a bastard who plays on girls all the time?"

            "No," he looked a little shocked, "but you see, it hurts for me to make you and him happy. I'm going to tell you straight out right now. He likes you a lot too. And I would give anything to see the both of you happy, even if it's happy together. But it hurts for me to see you two together." This comment got me a little confused.

            "Why? What's wrong? I won't go out with him if you don't want me to."

            "No! It's not that. I mean, it is, I mean…I'm in love with Charlie!" he told me truthfully and rather quickly. I tilted my head and looked at Adam's face as he stared at the ground, suddenly interested in the grass. Getting up from my seat, I knelt in front of him.

            "Adam? Look at me," Adam refused to look at me so I reached over and tilted his chin a tiny bit to look me in the eye, "I don't care that you like men. You could have told me that the first day I met you and nothing would have changed between us."

            "But about Charlie…"

            "That's a different issue, Adam. You being gay is fine with me. My two best friends at home, Shane Harrison and Jordan Keefe, are lovers. It doesn't matter to me at all. Charlie and I don't have anything going on right now, you have a chance."

            "He's not gay," Adam muttered.

            "So what? You can dream can't you? Besides, I'm not going to let some stupid guy come between us. Are you?"

            "No. But I know you really like him, so I guess I could try and set you two up." I looked at Adam hopefully, but saw heartbreak in his face. I just couldn't make him do that for me, even though that's what I really wanted. How horrible would I feel if Adam asked me to set him up with someone that _I was totally in love with? _

            "Don't, please Adam. Save yourself the pain and forget about it. If Charlie wants to go out, he'll be a big boy and do it himself. Besides, I can't let you do that. I love you too much to let you go on with that pain. Just know this. I'm here to talk about it whenever you need to," I extended him the offer, but I knew he wouldn't take me up on it. Even though he told me almost everything, there were things he needed to keep from me. This was one of them and I respected his need for space.  What's more, I don't think he was comfortable talking to _me_ of all people about Charlie. I know I wouldn't be. 

            "Thanks," he said uncertainly, "You know, I feel a lot better now that you know."

            "Yeah," I laughed nervously. Now things were going to be awkward and I didn't want them that way. And I wasn't going to let things get uncomfortable between us; we'd made it this far.

            "So are you ready to go snowboarding tomorrow?"

            "I don't know…that depends, am I going to hurt myself?" he cheered up considerablely talking about a neutral subject. I smiled to myself, satisfied. 

            "That depends, are you _afraid_ of getting hurt?"

            "I've gotten injured too many times on the ice to be afraid of it. It just happens, I'm almost expecting there to be an accident. Somewhere out there on that mound of snow…"

            "Don't worry about it. I'll protect you!" I flex my muscles and imitate a man's voice, "Macho woman to the rescue!" Adam laughed, a sound I hadn't heard all week. 

            "I guess I could get excited…" Adam stood up. We laughed and joked around, the atmosphere between us still a little weird but not tense, until we got to the door of the school. Who was there? Charlie Conway. Adam and I stopped abruptly, each trying not to act strangely. 

            "Good morning, what are you guys doing up so damn early?" Charlie yawned.

            "It's almost noon," Adam told him dryly.

            "That's early, man! It's Saturday!"

            "Okay, whatever you say Charlie."

            "Excited for snowboarding?" I asked Charlie, shifting to a comfortable subject once again. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. 

            "Yeah! Let's hope Banks doesn't get hurt doing this sport!" Charlie laughed. If only he knew what was going to happen, he wouldn't have said that…If only _I knew…_

***Please Review! Thanks for all your great reviews! I love you all!***

**Chelsea****: Well how was _I supposed to know that? Lol, thanks for letting me know before I went on like that forever like an idiot…=) thanks for reviewing!_**

**Banksie's_girl983: **thanks for reading!

**Gila Draper: **Thanks! I like Kori too! =)

**Spaz-chick99: **lol, I don't know…Charlie's a slow one in this story, isn't he? But that's what will eventually make this story long…

**Angel Ecstasy: **Thanks so much for reading my story!

**Bottles: **Adam runs his hand through his hair….omg you're right…lol and the thing about the t-shirt, I think you're right too. Maybe it's the same one! =)

**Geometrygal: **I love you too!! Piano…hmm….I'm 13 now I've been playing since I was 5…I guess I'm good. I hate it though =)

**Wari: **hehe, well going hard on Adam makes the stories more interesting…I need to go read your next chapter. NOW!!

**LB: **lol, I'm sorry…cake-eater is great for Adam. Don't worry, he hasn't lost it completely!

**Little Kaori solo Yuy-Maxwell: **HAHA!!! A lot of us think they should be together…they _are cute!! =)_

**Thanks to everyone else, even No Banksie who's been dying to read this chapter, but ff.net's being mean. I'm sorry No Banksie! I love you, and I'll send you the chapter!**

**Hugs and Kisses,**

**Crazy4nc128**


	8. Chapter 8: Charlie

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!     **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, and Jordan. I probably own Fulton's girl too, but she's not really featured in this story. 

**NOTE: **I realize now that there are no mountains in Minnesota. Oh well, just go with it…

Charlie

***

            The morning that we were all going to go snowboarding, I woke-up before anyone else on the team. It was 5:45 AM when I looked at my clock and Kori had told us to meet her down in the cafeteria at seven so we would get up to the mountains in time. Jumping out of bed, I threw my covers off of me and walked over to Guy's bed. 

            "Guy, wake-up!" I said in a normal voice, shaking Guy firmly. After a few shakes, Guy woke with a start.

            "What? What happened?" he asked breathlessly, sitting straight up.

            "Nothing, it's time to get up."

            "Why didn't my alarm ring?"

            "What time did you set it for?"

            "6:30…"

            "Oh, it's almost six now. Get up, we'll be late!" I told him excitedly. Guy rolled his eyes and obliged, probably too tired to argue. 

            "I'm going to make sure everyone else is up now," I told Guy before running out the door, still clad in my boxers and t-shirt. I went across the hall and knocked furiously on Averman and Goldberg's door. I heard a loud thump, cringing at the sound. After a few moments of shuffling and arguing the door opened, revealing a sleepy Averman.

            "What the hell do _you_ want? Do you realize what time it is?" he asked groggily.

            "Time to get up!" I announced cheerfully. Averman muttered something before nodding and telling Goldberg that he was using the bathroom first. I smiled and went back across the hall to the room next door to mine: Luis and Dwayne's room. I knocked on the door furiously. 

            "What is it?" Luis and Dwayne both answered the door without argument, but sleepily all the same. 

            "Get ready for snowboarding guys!" I exclaimed in a loud whisper so I wouldn't wake the whole hall up. They nodded, giving me a strange look and closed the door. I had a feeling they were both going back to sleep though. Shrugging it off, I ran over next door and knocked on Fulton, Ken, and Russ's door. This time I heard a, "What the fuck?" and, "Just get the damn door!!" I smiled amusedly as Fulton grudgingly opened the door.

            "What? Charlie…what the hell?" he opened the door a crack so he could see who it was. 

            "GET READY!" I pushed the door open to make sure all three of them got the message. They all stared at me like I had six heads. Sheepishly, I shrugged. What can I say? I was excited. The girls, however, beat me to it. When I knocked on their door, they weren't there. Later, I found out that they had gone to Kori's room fifteen minutes before I got up to get ready with her. I shrugged and made my way to Adam and Portman's room, a little farther down the hall than everyone else's since they were re-located in the middle of the year (or located for the first time in Portman's case). I knocked on their door for a few minutes straight before I heard any sign of movement from the other side. There was mumbling, but I couldn't exactly hear what they were saying. Finally, Adam opened the door still half-asleep.

            "Morning, Banksie!" I crowed cheerfully just like I had done all the other times. Adam rubbed his eyes a few times, which was pretty cute. I don't mean it _that way. He looked like a sleepy baby, which is cute. Get off my case, okay? _

            "Charlie…" he croaked, trailing off. 

            "Yes?" I asked innocently. He opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it and shook his head, yawning. I heard Portman ask him who it was and Adam told him it was me. Portman got up and joined Adam at the door, "Do you realize what time it is?" 

            "I'm pretty aware of it, yes. Get ready and meet everyone…" I was cut off by both Adam and Portman saying simultaneously,

            "In the cafeteria at seven sharp. Don't be late."

            "Yeah."

            "Okay, we'll see you then," Portman told me. I nodded and said good-bye. Adam scratched his stomach, revealing some stomach muscle, as he closed the door. He had a nice body. I had to ask him how he did that some time. Stopping in the middle of the hallway, I wondered what the hell I was doing thinking about that kind of stuff. Shrugging, I shook it off as jealously. Why was Adam always the one to get the nice body and attract all the girls on campus? Even Kori seemed attracted to him and that wasn't fair! It wasn't like it was his fault; I'll admit that he's good-looking, more so everyday, but I wanted that too! _'Charlie, stop thinking about stupid stuff like that. Besides, Adam doesn't like Kori as anything more than a friend.' I told myself. Finally able to convince myself that it was true, I happily went back to my room._

            At seven sharp, we were all in the cafeteria just like planned. Kori ran in at the last second, breathless beyond belief. It was pretty cute, actually. She explained in between breaths that we had to take the bus up to the mountains and that it would take about 2 hours. 

           "We'll get there at around 9:15 if we make this next bus. It opens at 9 so we should be fine. As soon as we get there, you guys just get in line for the rentals, I got the lift tickets under control. Got that?" she asked while we walked to the bus stop in front of the school. We all nodded, me and the girls the only ones who were fully awake. At 7:15, the bus stopped in front of Eden Hall and all fourteen of us boarded. I dropped into a seat next to Adam, who tensed up noticeablely when I sat down. That bothered me a bit. What was it about me that got him so nervous? 

            "Hey cake-eater, what's up?" I asked him, trying to loosen up the atmosphere between us. Adam grinned weakly at me.

            "Hey Spazway. I see you're excited," he commented, "I've never seen anyone so…attentative at this hour of the morning. Especially right after hockey season's over." 

            "What can I say? I like to be punctual." He laughed for the first time in awhile, a sound that I found I liked a lot. In all the years that I'd known Adam, he never laughed much. But when he did, it was a beautiful sound. Oh god. Did I just say the word beautiful to describe a man's laugh? What was I doing? Shaking my head, I told myself I really _didn't_ get enough sleep the night before. For the next half hour, it was particularly silent on the bus. A few times I looked over to Kori who was staring out the window much like Adam was doing, I caught her glancing back at me. Sure, the pink hair was a little out there and sure, not many of the girls at school liked her much. But I thought she was beautiful. 

            "You like her, don't you?" Adam turned to catch me staring at Kori about forty-five minutes into the bus ride. I jumped, startled. The entire bus had been pretty silent. The only people actually awake were Kori, Adam, and I. Smiling sheepishly, I nodded.

            "Is it that obvious?"

            "I'm sorry to say that it is. Even Dwayne noticed it," he struggled to smile at me and there was a shaky tone in his voice. What was wrong with him?

            "Are you okay, Banks?" I asked with concern. He sighed in return.

            "I wish everyone would stop asking me that."

            "We care, is that a crime?"

            "Sometimes I think it is," he responded with no sign of joking anywhere. He was looking out the window now and I just stared at him. What was he talking about? He turned and met my eyes, holding my gaze for what seemed like hours. The electric that flowed in between us was unbelievable; I couldn't describe what it felt like. All I knew was that I've never felt anything quite like that before. Just as suddenly as he turned to look at me straight in the eye Adam turned away, ending the electric. Blinking a few times and looking at what was now the back of Adam's head, I questioned what the hell it was I just felt right then. I noticed that I was sweating and my breathing had become shallow. What was wrong with me? Shaking my head, I faced front and stared at the patterns in the seat. My head started getting heavy and my eyelids droopy. Soon, I was sleeping like a baby on Adam's shoulder.

            "Charlie, get up!" Adam shook me gently as he moved to stand up without dropping my head onto the chair he was just sitting in. I opened my eyes and blinked a few times. Looking out the window, I only saw white snow and bright jackets in the distance. 

            "We're here, sleeping beauty!" Kori teased, winking at Adam and sharing a look with him that only they knew the meaning of. I got up and grabbed my jacket, pulling a hat on over my messy hair. We all got in line for the equipment rentals like Kori told us to while she disappeared somewhere to get us lift tickets. Twenty minutes later, we moved up quite a few feet in line and Kori came back with the tickets. She showed us how to clip them onto our jackets and by the time we figured it out correctly, it was our turn in line. 

            "Hey, Kori!" a tall brown-haired guy called out to Kori as we approached. He had green tips; bright green tips on his spiky brown hair. 

            "Hey Jordan," she greeted him, "These are my friends from the new boarding school," she named all of us individually. 

            "Hey," Jordan nodded at us, "I'm Jordan from Kori's old school."

            "Wait. You lived in Minnesota all your life?" Russ asked her. This was news to me, I always thought she was from out of town.

            "No, but my parents divorced a six months ago and I started going to public school here in September after I moved in with my dad in June. I met our friend Shane there, but I've known Jordan for a long time. He used to go to my school in New York when we were really little. Shane, Jordan, and I hang-out all the time. Or we used to anyway. We all got jobs up here in the mountains; all three of us snowboard," Kori explained.

            "And I've been meaning to ask you, Korienna Julie Smith, where have _you been?" Jordan pretended to be mad. Kori shrugged him off, "Just get us the boards Jordan." Jordan rolled his eyes and set Kori up quickly since he knew her settings. From there, it was a hectic process renting the stuff. Kori helped each of us decide whether we rode goofy or regular. After another half hour, we were on our way. We thanked Jordan and headed out to the slopes. Kori taught us how to strap our back foot onto the board and told us it always had to be there. _

            After half a day of continuous falling on our asses and snow in our face, all of us mastered how to ride and stop. Well, most of us anyway. After lunch and hot chocolate, Kori asked if we wanted to try going down the small beginner's hill. Everyone except Adam was excited to go, but Kori begged and pleaded with Adam promising that she'd be with him. Finally, he accepted. I rode with Kori on the chairlift. 

            "So are you having fun so far?" she asked me breathlessly once we were safely on the lift.

            "Yeah, this is a lot of fun!" I told her truthfully. 

            "That's good. I was worried you guys would hate the sport. Adam doesn't seem to be having a great time, which is weird because he's really good at snowboarding. Are you sure it's his first time?"

            "I'm pretty sure. But Adam's good at everything he does." She looked at me, tilting her head up to meet my eyes. 

            "I know he has some faults; they're hard to catch, but they're there."

            "What do you mean?" That was confusing.

            "He needs someone to talk to, that's all I'm saying. His problem is he's not being able to find someone to talk to when he needs to."

            "Isn't that what you've been doing though? Talking to him?"

            "No, this time's different. He can't talk to me about this."

            "How come?"

            "Never mind, I never said anything," She waved it off and turned to look behind us where Adam was sitting nervously with Luis. She waved and smiled at him. He nodded back at her then glanced at me, smiling slightly at her. She shook her head and turned back to me, "He's going to be a nervous wreck going down that mountain. 

            "Hey Kori?" I asked suddenly.

            "Yeah?" I took in a breath; it was now or never. 

            "Would you maybe…want to…um…go to the winter formal at school or something?" I asked quickly. There was silence as she thought this over. She bit her lip and seemed relatively unsure.

            "I don't know, Charlie. Adam-" she cut herself off there. What? What did Adam say? What the hell did he tell her?

            "What about Adam?" I asked her harshly, more harshly than I'd meant to. 

            "Nothing," she replied hastily, "Nothing. I just can't go to the dance with you, that's all." I figured it out. It was true; he _had been lying to me that night. Adam __did like Kori! He lied to me! The little bastard! I thought I was supposed to be one of his best friends; how could do this? Adam led me on to believe that he didn't like Kori when in truth he did! I can't say that I didn't feel a little betrayed that my own best friend would do that to me and I can't say that I didn't feel heartbreak, though for what I had no idea. It wasn't the fact that Kori had turned me down because I could take that. Yes I admit she was beautiful, but what I felt for her wasn't love and I knew it. It was a crush. So why did I feel heartbroken. Angry at myself and frustrated with Adam, I tripped over Kori getting off the chairlift. Quickly, she got up and moved out of the way, yelling for me to do the same. But I couldn't move with as much ease as she could. Before I knew what hit me, Adam and Luis had stumbled over me and the three of us landed in a heap. Kori had un-strapped herself fully from her board now and swiftly dragged Luis and Adam out of harm's way and then came back for me. Pulling me out of there not a second too early, I got out of the way just as Fulton and Portman came sliding down the little hill. _

            As we strapped our other foot into our boards, I decided to ask Adam why he didn't tell me he had feelings for Kori before. I plopped down next to him and carefully picked out my words. I would _not_ get irritated with him. 

            "Hey Banksie?" I started.

            "Yeah?" he kept looking down at his board even though he was already all strapped in. 

            "How come you didn't tell me you liked Kori?"

            "What? I don't like her!" he protested loudly. 

            "Yes you do, admit Adam! Stop lying to me!" 

            "I do not! Where the hell did you get that idea?" 

            "When we were on the lift, I asked Kori to the dance."

            "So what did she say?"

            "She said, 'I don't know Charlie. Adam…' and she never finished her sentence. When I asked her what, she claimed that it was nothing. But I know you Banks and I know that you like her and somehow told her! I honestly wouldn't have minded!" I watched his expression carefully and soon knew that I'd said something wrong. Rage swept through his usually cool blue eyes turning them an awful shade of gray. He was mad. Without saying a word to me, he awkwardly got up and started down the mountain to meet Kori where she was sitting, waiting for the rest of us. 

**Thanks for all your reviews!**

**Sphinx: **I'm sorry, I'll try and update fast!

**Vinnies-Angel: **I'll be sure to keep your offer in mind, thanks!

**Chelsea****: Tension is a good thing for a story, I love it too!**

**FF.net's been a little crazy for awhile so not that many of your reviews showed up on the screen when I went to write this. I got the e-mails saying that you reviewed so THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!!**


	9. Chapter 9: Kori

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!     **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, and Jordan. I probably own Fulton's girl too, but she's not really featured in this story. 

**NOTE: **I realize now that there are no mountains in Minnesota. Oh well, just go with it…

Kori

***

            I knew I'd blown my little cover when I'd said Adam's name while turning Charlie down for the dance. I could have slapped myself a hundred times for doing that. Although I really wanted to go to the dance with Charlie; it was my dream come true, I couldn't do that to Adam. Especially not after all the pain he went through admitting his sexuality to me and Portman. I hoped that Charlie didn't mention anything about it to him. Everyone except for Luis, Adam, Charlie, and I got off the lift safely. I told them to meet me down at a flat point of the beginner's slope. Before I took off, I caught a glimpse of Charlie sharing a few words with Adam. This was very _not_ good. What the hell was I going to do?

            "Hey," Adam muttered dropping down next to me. He was a fast learner and mastered the basics really quickly. 

            "Hi," I tried to keep my tone normal, but I can't say that I wasn't even the slightest bit apprehensive as to what Adam had to say to me. I wasn't wrong.

            "What'd you say to Charlie?" he asked me softly.

            "Well," I said slowly, words getting cluttered in my mouth, "he asked me to go to the formal with him. I didn't want to hurt you by going so I turned him down. But I accidentally slipped and added your name in the mix. Was he really pissed off?"

            "Yeah. He said that I was a liar and that I should have told him I liked you from the beginning. So I told him that he didn't know half of it."

            "It's the truth…"           

            "Yeah well he doesn't know that. Accidentally slipped, huh?"

            "I'm sorry," I tried apologizing, "I really didn't mean to say your name in there. I didn't want you to get into trouble, really Adam."

            "How am I supposed to trust you on that? I told you the deepest secret that I posses and I trust you to keep it. And what do you do? You _accidentally slip and come _this close_ to revealing it to the person who's never supposed to find out. Tell me what I'm supposed to think of that, Kori?" his voice was rising now. The closer of the Ducks who were sliding down looked over curiously. I put my hands on his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down. He shrugged my hand off and looked away. Hopelessly, I turned back to the others forcing a smile on my face._

            "Looks like everyone made it in one piece," I commented jokingly. 

            "I don't think I did," Goldberg groaned, "My ass hurts like hell."

            "You'll get used to it, don't worry," I assured him, "Now really slowly, go down to the bottom of the hill. Remember what I said about falling. Do not, under _any circumstances, put your arms out to brace yourself. DO NOT. Does everyone understand that?" They all nodded so I smiled and jerked my head in the direction we were going in, "Let's go." With a loud whoop (by Averman), everyone started down the hill. Adam started off fast and I raced to catch up to him. I wasn't going to let this day end without making it up to Adam. _

            "Adam, please. Just listen!" I pleaded with him.

            "Listen? Kori I told you from the beginning of the time that you knew not to tell anyone! I thought it was obvious that I didn't want haters on my back. That I didn't want everyone to know."

            "I know and I'm really sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen. I just totally forgot that he was there. I'm sorry!" I was riding goofy and he was riding regular so we were facing each other. We both stopped at a plateau of snow to catch a breath.

            "Well maybe sorry isn't enough this time around, Kori," he looked at me. His eyes, which were normally a warmth of sea blue, were two pieces of cold ice. Charlie came in between us now, stopping and looking at Adam. He rode goofy like me. 

            "Banks, look, I'm really sorry. Maybe you don't like Kori after all; I just jumped to conclusions. I shouldn't have done that, sorry man," Charlie apologized. Adam turned his icy glare over to Charlie. Could he really be all that mad at Charlie? He didn't really do anything except maybe piss Adam off by being naïve. Honestly, the signs were there and now that I knew about Adam's ever growing love for Charlie, it became kind of obvious. I guess everyone else just took it for granted because of his developed 'quiet' reputation. But when I looked closer at the expression on Adam's face, I found something else. It wasn't the same cold look he gave me. It was different. Instead of being pure fury, there was hurt and heartbreak in his eyes. It was as if someone betrayed him. I'd seen it when Adam told me about Charlie and I'd seen again on the bus ride up the mountain. And the worst part of it all was the knowledge that Charlie had no clue about the real reason Adam was hurting          We started down the mountain again, the three of us broken in some way. I didn't say anything the whole time Charlie pleaded with Adam and Adam looked at the snow rushing past beneath him. Charlie slipped and fell so we had to stop for him. I know why I stopped; I was unofficially in charge of all the Ducks. And I know why Adam stopped. No matter how mad he was, or thought he was, at Charlie he still loved him. Charlie got up and came down to us and we were on our way again. Again, I resumed silence as Adam listened to the love of his life preach to him about how incredibly sorry he was. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that Adam wouldn't give up his anger easily. 

            "Adam, we're both really sorry. Can't you see? We want to make it up to you. How?" I spoke up with a desperate voice for the first time in minutes.

            "You've done enough Kori. Believe me, just don't do anything more to 'help me'." While he was talking, he didn't realize there was a huge clump of uneven snow in front of him and I was so concentrated on his face that I didn't take notice of it either. It wasn't until Charlie screamed that we turned our attention to it.

            "ADAM WATCH OUT!!!!" But it was too late. Adam tripped and went flying. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't put his arms out. His butt would've been sore for a long while, but no permanent damage would've been done. But since he was so mad at me that he didn't listen when I warned everyone up at the top, he put his arms out to break his fall. Unfortunately, one of his wrists had already been injured before. It didn't hold up this time. When he skidded to a stop, I was already halfway down to get him. I made a short stop, spraying snow over his groaning figure. 

            "Adam? Adam, are you okay? Adam!!" I un-strapped myself and knelt down next to him. Charlie came to a stop next to me and fell to his knees, not even bothering to take his board off. 

            "Holy shit, this hurts. Kori, ow…" Adam moaned when he opened his eyes for a second to look at me. I turned to Charlie.

            "Watch him and make sure he doesn't move too much," I shrugged my jacket off, "Wrap this around his wrist so that he doesn't make it numb from the cold. Take your jacket off and use it as a pillow for him. I'll be back." Without waiting for a response, I put my board back on and raced off to find the ski patrol. 

***Thanks for all the reviews!! I'm going to try to update this one more time before I go off to camp on Saturday. I'll be back in three weeks if I don't. Please review!***

**Sphinx: **yes, it would. Charlie's getting smarter, but he's got a long way to go…

**LB: **I think that's a good idea. Or we could have Kori slap him and be like, "WAKE UP STUPID!"

**Duckslover99: **That's okay, get the next chapter of your story up soon. Please?

**Vinnies-Angel: **Yes, ma'am! Lol, I posted!! But I think I just left you hanging again…hehe sorry…

**WeBuiltThisCityOnRockAndRoll: **lol, D3 is the coolest! Yes, well you wanted tension and I gave you tension =). I love Adam too…don't we all? =D

**Micha: **Thanks for all those compliments, I'm glad you like my story!!

**Hilde7085: **I'm going to go crazy too and I'm the one writing this! =p

**Wari: **Thanks so much! You are the coolest! I had a lot of fun writing that chapter even though it took me awhile. Oh well, good results I guess, huh? I'll try and get another one up so you're not left hanging here either. =D

**Eternity: **Yes, I'd say Adam got kind of mad. But I think I portrayed him as more of a subdued kind of mad rather than out of control like Charlie in D3. Anyway, thanks for the review!

**Britts: **See? Here's another one for ya! MWA!

**No Banksie: **Thanks for reviewing and letting me post in the group!

**Bottles: **Thanks for letting me post in the group!


	10. Chapter 10: Charlie

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!     **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, and Jordan. I probably own Fulton's girl too, but she's not really featured in this story. 

**I'm back from camp and it was a blast! Well, here's another chapter for you!**

Charlie

***

            Adam was hurt. From the way his face contorted into pain and agony, I knew it was far worse than any hockey stick being broken over his wrist. Coincidentally, it was the same wrist. I knelt next to him, taking Kori's place and picked her navy blue jacket up from the snow where she'd dropped it before rushing off to find help. I quickly un-strapped myself from my board before whipping my jacket off of me. Adam was silent now, as if the pain was so strong, he was numbed by it. I bundled my jacket into a ball and gently lifted his head, slipping the jacket under. He moaned softly and I winced almost feeling his pain. With care, I delicately wrapped his injured wrist with Kori's jacket, trying hard not to cause Adam too much pain. 

            "Just sit tight," I pushed a few strands of blond hair away from his sweaty forehead, "You'll be okay." 

            "Charlie…" he whispered, wincing slightly, "Charlie, I…"

            "What is it?" I asked gently 

            "It hurts." He told me weakly, tears brimming his eyes. I was taken by surprise. It took a lot to make Adam Banks cry. He didn't cry when Olaf Sanderson broke the hockey stick over his hand, he didn't cry when he lost all the Ducks during his little stint on Varsity, and he never cried when he got upset with his father. It just didn't work that way for Adam and to see him cry now broke my heart. 

            "You'll be okay, I promise. Everything will be fine," I murmured these somewhat comforting words into his ear. I caught his eyes and locked gazes with him. His electric blue eyes almost hypnotized me and there was this look in them that was different than all those other times he caught my eye. I couldn't place the exact emotion that he held within them, but I knew it was something important, something that was big because it wasn't the usual joking twinkle in his eye, it was more. It was intense, maybe a little _too_ intense for me. I broke away from his gaze, feeling something that I couldn't place either, something that felt weird. When I looked back at Banks, he had found a great interest in Kori's jacket, staring at it intently as if it held the answers to everything.

            "Hey, Banks?" I began nervously. I didn't like the silence that had formed between us. It was too awkward, which was a little unusual for us. 

            "Yeah?" his voice was small and reminded me of a little toddler's voice ringing in the distance. I automatically looked down and him and a surge of emotions reached out to him. I pushed them aside with force, knowing they'd be back to haunt me later.

            "I really _am sorry." He smiled weakly, something I hadn't seen a hint of all day. And I liked it. Shaking my head, I turned back to him, waiting for the reaction._

            "I guess…I guess I over-reacted. I'm sorry too," He bit his lip cringing when he accidentally moved his hand. We fell back into another awkward silence, leaving me to retreat back into my thoughts. What were those emotions that I'd felt for Banks back only a few minutes ago? They were definitely feelings of best friends weren't they? It wasn't anything more, right? Right. I nervously wrung my hands, afraid to think, afraid to ask. Would Adam think it was…odd if I asked him these questions? I shook my head, deciding that it would be an extremely _bad idea to bring up the topic of my sexuality while he was in so much pain. Adam. I snapped out of my daze and returned to the present. Adam started to doze off, which wasn't really supposed to be allowed so I shook him lightly._

            "Adam! Don't fall asleep. C'mon, you can do it. Kori'll be back here any minute now…" Silently, I prayed that maybe Kori would telepathically get my message. As if on cue, I saw a ski patrol snow mobile racing up the mountain, Kori in tow. Breathing a sigh of relief, I told Adam, "Look, she's here. Everything will be okay now." Adam looked at me wordlessly, doubt written all over his face. _'Hockey' I thought. He was worried about never being able to play hockey again. Squeezing his shoulder in assurance as the ski patrol lifted him gently onto the snow mobile, I silently told him that _everything_ would be okay. Everything. _

~*~

            I sat in the white waiting room on a blue cushioned chair, watching as the nurses in their white uniforms walked across the white tiled floor briskly, sometimes stopping at the white reception desk to talk to the receptionist who was also wearing a white uniform. Everything about the hospital was white and it made me sick. Everything was so clean, so…sanitary. Kori had run to gather all the other Ducks and tell them what happened to Adam while she left me sitting in the waiting room in case the doctor came out of the examination room. Which, again, left me to think. 

            What was happening to me? Why was I so confused all of the sudden and why were the silences between Adam and I so awkward now? Right after he came back from being on Varsity, it was awkward because of what had happened between us, but now I didn't see why they were so uncomfortable. And the way we held stares on the bus that morning _and_ while we were waiting for Kori and the ski patrol. It was something I'd never experienced before or possibly _wanted_ to experience again. What about thinking that Adam was cute that morning? _'Wait a minute,' I thought, __'Baby cute. You thought he was baby cute. As in like a baby. Everyone thinks babies are cute. So what's wrong with that? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.' I almost convinced myself of that when the rest of the Ducks rushed into the hospital waiting room, worried looks plastered on their faces. _

            "Is he okay?"

            "What did the doctor say?"

            "What happened exactly?"

            "Where is he?" the questions were thrown at me before I even stood up to greet them. A voice from behind me shut them up.

            "He wouldn't know since he hasn't talked to me yet," the kind voice of a doctor in a white uniform smiled when I turned around to face him. 

            "How is he, doctor?" I was the first to ask, my heart beating quickly. Even though I knew that hockey season was over and Adam wasn't in any life threatening situations, he'd always been the only one of us to practice in the off-season. If he was deprived of that, we'd be dealing with a messy Adam for the next few weeks. 

            "He's got a messy break to his wrist bone, considering he injured it once already. He should be fine, but I advise that he doesn't do anything…like play hockey…for a few weeks. Tell his mom and take him back here in two weeks. I'll examine it then. He might be able to do light training, but the cast won't come off for another month or so." There was silence.

            "Doctor? Have you…told him this yet?" Connie asked cautiously.

            "Yes. He wasn't too happy with the news, but what can you do? I'll go get him and bring him out. He can go home right now." A few minutes later, a groggy and sullen Adam Banks exited the hospital with us. He didn't say anything as we caught the bus to go back to school. He didn't say anything as I slid into the seat next to him and he didn't say anything before he lightly closed the door to his dorm room after him. Portman and I exchanged looks of concern before Portman followed his roommate into the room. I only hoped I could fix my own thoughts and sort them out before tackling Adam's problem…

***Okay, I know that truly SUCKED. But please, bear with me here. PLEASE REVIEW!!!***

**Kelly: **Thanks…sorry if this chapter was disappointing!!

**Rachel: **I love Adam too!!

**Sphinx: **Sorry, I didn't get your review until after I got home!!

**Geometrygal: **Hey Britts! I missed you!! Yes, Charlie MUST kiss Adam before I do it myself! Lol, j/k

**LB: **It's coming up in the next chapter, just you watch!!! 'The Slap'

**Vinnies-Angel: **I'm sorry!!! Yeah, this chapter sucks, but I promise the next one will be better! Maybe I'm losing my touch…ahh! I better go find it!

**WeBuiltThisCityOnRockAndRoll: **Corey Haim is very very hot, I agree.

**Eternity: **I would never do that to poor Adam! No hockey? That's like…no ff.net for me!

**Micha: **Yeah, he'll get over it, don't worry!

**Wari: **Yeah I know what you mean, I feel bad for all of them too.

**THANKS EVERYONE!!!**


	11. Chapter 11: Portman

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!     **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, and Fulton's girlfriend. 

Portman

***

            "Adam?" I walked into our room after we got back from the hospital and cautiously looked in the direction of Adam's bed where Adam was sitting, staring at the cast plastered to his wrist. 

            "Adam, are you alright?" I ventured, taking a seat on my bed, facing him.

            "You heard the doctor. I'll be fine," he muttered, not even looking up at me. 

            "No, are you alright, emotionally? You can't keep it all bottled up you know." Adam tore his eyes away from the cast and met my eyes. I bit down a gasp. His blue eyes were sad, almost pleading and his usually neutral expression had been totally wiped from his face. He looked like a little five-year old who's favorite toy was just broken. 

            "No," he sighed, "No, I'm not alright. Do you have a few hours to talk about this?" 

            "I have as long as you need." And so he spilled the whole story. From the beginning of the bus ride when he thought he saw something in Charlie's eyes when they held an electrocuting gaze, until right before Kori came back with the ski patrol. 

            "He told me that everything was going to be okay, that I didn't have to worry about anything. But I _do_," he was lying on his bed looking at the ceiling and occasionally glancing at me now, "He just doesn't know it. He thought I liked Kori. He probably still thinks I like Kori. And no offense to Kori, who's a beautiful girl, I just don't swing that way. He doesn't know that though and sometimes, I just want to scream out my confession of love to him. But I never do," he finished sadly. I sat, frozen on my bed and watched him. I wondered how hard it had to be to know that you loved someone, but to also know that that someone didn't love you the same way. 

            "Well, hey, you don't know that Charlie's not gay," I pointed out in a desperate attempt to make Adam feel better. It didn't work too well.

            "He likes Kori, Portman," he told me dryly, sitting up. 

            "Maybe it's a cover-up."

            "I highly doubt it."

            "Why don't we find out for ourselves?" Banksie sent me an incredulous look.

            "Oh yeah," he said sarcastically, "We'll just go up to him and say, 'Hey Charlie, what's up? Oh by the way, are you gay?' I'm sure that'll go over real well with him, Portman." I rolled my eyes.

            "Not like _that! Geez, I thought you'd have figured it out by now since you're in A classes and all. If he's questioning his sexuality at all, he'll feel like he needs to talk about it. Well you're one of his best friends, he'll tell you." I pointed out. Adam paused and thought for a minute and then, for the first time I'd seen all day, he smiled._

            "Hey, you're right!" he exclaimed, "All I have to do is pry it out of him! But…how will I do that without planting suspicions in _his_ mind?"

            "Get Kori to do it," I said simply, "I mean, she has no attraction to him, does she?"

            "She kind of does," he replied uncomfortablely. A knock sounded at our door and Adam sighed, getting up to answer it. It was Kori. 

            "Hey," he said softly, inviting her inside. 

            "Oh Adam, I'm so sorry about everything that happened today!" she threw herself into his arms. He looked genuinely surprised by her outburst and awkwardly put his left arm around her to comfort her.

            "It's okay, Kori. It's okay. I apologize for over-reacting." Kori stepped back from him to give him room and smiled at him, plopping herself onto my bed next to me. Adam closed the door and resumed his former position on his bed. 

            "Hey, Kori?" I piped up.

            "Yeah?"

            "Do you like Charlie as anything more than a friend?" Her face clouded over at the mention of Charlie's name and she bit her lip, looking down, "No," she answered weakly, "Not anymore." I looked at Adam with satisfaction only to find guilt contorted all over his face. Was I missing something here? 

            "Kori, you don't have to--" Adam started, but Kori cut him off.

            "No, it doesn't have to do with you Adam. It's okay. It's something else entirely, but it's not important," she paused before smiling at Adam, "I think you're starting to grow on Captain Duck, Adam." He was? This was news.

            "How so?" Adam asked, just as confused as I was.

            "Well on the bus, he kept glancing at you while you were asleep this morning and he's unusually quiet around you. That's definite signs of a crush development here." 

            "That's just because you were around."

            "Not true!" 

            "True!" Adam and Kori glared at each other playfully before breaking out in fits of giggles (yes, giggles). The three of us headed down to dinner together about an hour later. Coincidentally, the first person we saw was Charlie. I looked closely at Adam and Charlie when they were together while Kori and I pretended to be absorbed in conversation. 

            Charlie, who was _never_ quiet, didn't open his mouth once as we headed into the cafeteria. He greeted us with a slight nod and glance at Adam's wrist. It was kind of odd. Kori pulled me back and we slowed our pace so that we fell right behind the two of them. Not a word was exchanged between them and I could tell that Adam was starting to get uncomfortable. Finally, as we stood in line, Adam blurted out,

            "Charlie, are you okay?" Charlie jumped when he heard his name.

            "Yeah, I'm fine…really….um, yeah. I'm going to go back up. I'm not that hungry. I have a lot of homework to catch up on, actually. I'll see you around." Without even glancing at us, Charlie rushed through the double doors just as Luis, Russ, and Fulton came in through them. They looked confused and we shrugged when they looked to us. 

            "That went…well it could have been better," Kori commented after a few moments' silence. Adam rubbed his temple with his free hand and sighed. Kori and I exchanged looks of concern. This was dragging on far too long and it was tearing our resident Wayne Gretsky apart. Something had to be done to make Charlie realize how perfect he and Adam would be together. He really needed to wake-up. But how were we going to do that? How?

***Please review!***

**Melodie: **Thanks, here's another chapter!

**Kellyerielf: **Thanks so much for giving me all your opinions. It really helped!

**LilRebel55: **Charlie and Adam…*sigh* all I can say is Charlie better wake up soon! Oh yeah, I'm supposed to make that happen…hehe, I'm workin' on it!

**Vinnies-Angel: **No human can resist Adam Banks, they'd have to be crazy!! =D

**Sphinx: **Yes, Charlie seriously needs to WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!!!!

**WeBuiltThisCityOnRockAndRoll: **Slash thrills me to no end nowadays too. I don't know what it is...=D

**LB: **Very very soon…the slap's coming up very very very soon, don't worry!

**Eternity: **Hey, you know I'd never make Adam _not_ able to play! =P


	12. Chapter 12: Kori

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!           **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, and Fulton's girlfriend. 

Kori

***

            "Okay, that's great and all, but how do _you feel?" I stopped walking and looked up at Adam. If there was one thing I'd learned about Adam Bradley Banks, it was the fact that Eden Hall's number 99 hockey player liked to keep things all bottled up inside until he was ready to explode. And in no way, shape, or form was that supposed to be good for you. Figuring that out was the easy part. It was convincing him to let go and spill his feelings that would be hard. Even though the star center came on as a happy man, he wasn't all that content with things. _

            "Are you going to tell me the problem or are we just going to sit here all night?" I asked again when Adam didn't respond. He raised his eyes to meet mine and the sadness in them just broke my heart. In all honesty, I was _not_ a cliché type of person. I was _not _your average cheerleading prep. Come on, I dyed my hair pink!  But Adam made me see that being tough wasn't everything. And that was _before he even opened his mouth. Now, I had to make it up to him, I had to help him._

            "I'm sorry," I said to him, "I didn't mean for it to come out that harsh. Adam, the whole thing at dinner…it means something."

            "I know," he whispered.

            "As your role as the best friend, you have to talk to him, find out what's bothering him."

            He shook his head vigorously.

            "Listen to me. Are you listening to me?" I pulled him onto a bench and titled his chin to look me in the eye. He nodded.

            "There's something bothering Charlie. And because you are his friend, because you care, you have to find out what it is. Chances are it won't be about his sexuality, but you can't be afraid like this Adam. It wouldn't be normal for you and he would probably figure it out on his own anyway." Adam thought about this for a moment before opening his mouth to speak.

            "It's just," he began, "It's just every time we talk, it gets to girls and Charlie's trying to set me up with girls and every time, I just want to scream, 'I love _you_, not some dumb girl.' No offense or anything."

            "None taken. And I understand that, but this time, the problem's big, you know? And you're the only one that can do this. You're the only one that will get through to him. Not me, not Portman, or anyone else. You."

            "Me?"

            "You. And I know you can do it. I believe in you. Now you need to believe in yourself."

            "But what about _you_ and Charlie?"

            "I'll be fine." I really was going to be fine. It would just take some time, that was all.

            "Are you sure?"

            "Positive. No go talk to him." Adam stood up bravely and gave me a big hug.

            "Thanks Kori," he whispered in my ear before pulling away, kissing my cheek, then running off. I returned to my room, watching his retreating back, leaving the frosty courtyard behind. 

            "That's the Love of You Life #2 you just gave away," I muttered under my breath as I walked into my empty room, reading a note from Yolanda, my room-mate. But was I really in love with Charlie? Or was I just trying to get over Jesse? No, not Jesse Hall. Jesse Schroden. 

            Sighing, I dropped onto my bed. The empty room, devoid of any sign of life except for me, made me lonely and depressed. I spotted a box that I had yet to unpack, procrastinating the whole time I'd been at Eden Hall. Deciding that I'd better just do it, I picked up the box and flung it onto my bed. It was labeled 'Friends'. Hmm…interesting.

            Inside, contained almost every aspect about my friends back at my old school. I picked up a few pictures, all of Jordan, Shane, and me. My best friends. They were lovers. Jordan's hair was tipped neon blue and Shane's neon green. Both boys worked up at the mountains with me, only with my parent's divorce, I didn't apply that year. I love them both very much; they were like my brothers to me. There were also a collective amount of things from both my real siblings. Pictures and little good-bye notes, thought I received more from my brother than my sister. Just the same, I gave more to my brother than my sister. My 17-year-old brother Kevin moved with my mom to Illinois while I stayed with my dad in Minnesota. Mallory, my 23-year old sister lived on her own. She disapproved of Kevin and me. It was the colored hair (Kevin's was red). Our oldest brother, Steven, died in a car accident a year back. 

            To tell the truth, I didn't have a whole lot of friends at my old school. And all my friends were boys; the girls stayed away from me like I had an extremely tropical disease. Don't ask me why because I don't know why. Shane Harrison, Jordan Keefe, Bryan McCauly (he was a senior and had his locker next to mine. He was an extremely nice preppy jock), and…Jesse Schroden were the only people who would talk to me. They all got together when they found out I was leaving, which was rare in itself because Jordan and Shane didn't hang-out with Bryan and Jesse (the two groups were totally opposite. I was more with Jordan and Shane), and made me a memory book. It was totally sweet of them and was given to me right before my dad drove us away. I swore I wouldn't red it before I arrived at Eden Hall and I kept to it.

            "It's time to read it," I muttered, opening the book. Each guy had his own page, but before all that was a bunch of 'us' memories. They had a 'Remember when…" page, an 'Inside Jokes' page, and a lot of pages filled with pictures. Shane, Jordan, and I were pointing to our hair and making funny faces in one, I found one of Bryan and I having organization lessons at our lockers, and there was one of Jesse and me at the sledding hills. He had picked me up and thrown me into the snow. The picture was taken right after. I lingered on a few more 'Kori, Jesse' pictures before flipping the page to be blinded with neon green. Shane's page. I laughed at the memories, at the jokes on each page. I last personal page was pink. Like my hair. It was Jesse's page. Glued to it were more pictures, more great memories, and an envelope. Inside it was a latter:

_Kori,_

_            Saying that I'll miss you is an understatement. You came into __Heartland__High__Academy__ with bold rage, a certain bitterness about you, and pink streaks in your hair. You were the newest addition to the Neon Haired Freaks and instead of showing the hurt it caused when people referred to you as that, you wore it proudly. You gave Shane and __Jordan__ pride. And when my secret…when you discovered it, you did something about it. You were the only one who did and now I'm staying with Bryon's family until I get a foster family. And all those times you were there for me, I tried to repay. You are a great friend and I can't get close to helping you when you need it. I wasn't there for you at the one-year anniversary of your brother's death until __Bryan__ slapped me and made me realize you needed a friend. I tried to comfort you when you found out about your parent's divorce. I tried to tell you everything would be okay. But I'm not good at that, so I'm sorry._

_            But you see, there's something I never told you. Something you should know. You set me up with Danielle, remember? You helped me get her because that's what you thought I wanted. Well, Korienna Smith, for once you were wrong. I never wanted her. I wanted someone else. And I never had the guts to say. Last night, I realized this was my last chance. I broke it off with Danielle. Kori, I love you, more than you think. Please…call me soon._

_Love,_

_Jesse Schroden_

            I read the letter over and over again, surprised and stunned. _'Kori, I love you…'_ I head his voice saying those four words…the four words I had been longing to hear for months. And now, I finally got them. A month too late! I scrambled for the phone, quickly glancing at the clock. 11:42 PM. It was late, but I didn't care. If Adam could do it, so could I. I grabbed the phone and dialed the numbers that I'd memorized the second week of October, my second week at Heartland. Jesse's cell phone. 

            "Hello?" Jesse picked up. Now what did I do?   
  


**Thanks to:**

**Lil K: **I'm extremely honored that my story pleased you…really. Sorry it took me so long to update! I'll try harder now =D

**Sphinx the Minx: **Haha! I want to sign Adam's cast too! We can sign it together…in our minds…damn it Adam! WHY CAN'T YOU BE A REAL PERSON?! Lol

**Hilde7085: **Next chapter, I promise you…they will. 

**Melodie: **Thanks for reviewing…I like your user name by the way =D

**LB: **Okay, I've the slap all planned out now. It's coming two chapters from this one. It's going to be great!

**WeBuiltThisCityOnRockAndRoll: **No, you're not obsessed, the birth mark is completely hot!!! Thanks for reviewing my other story too, glad you like both of them!

**PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	13. Chapter 13: Adam

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!           **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, and Fulton's girlfriend. 

Adam

***

            To say that I wasn't scared was the understatement of the century. To say that I wasn't nervous would be lying, but that wasn't too much of a surprise, knowing how much I'd been lying to all my friends. My heart pounded in my ears as I slowly climbed the steps up to the dorms. My feet felt like lead weights, refusing to move another step, but my brain kept telling me to stop being such a wussy. By the time I reached Charlie's room, I'd lost almost all my courage. The only thing left inside of me was a longing for Charlie and an echo of Kori's voice. I must have stood there for ten minutes or so. All I remember was that the people passing by gave me the weirdest looks and I wouldn't blame them either. What would you do if you saw a jock standing outside a boy's dorm room like an idiot, talking to himself? When I finally got the courage to raise my hand and knock on the door, Guy opened the door before my fist even touched it. 

            "Banks? What are you doing here?" he asked, swiping his jacket off of the doorknob.

            "I…I wanted t-to talk to Ch-Ch-Charlie," I stammered. _'Smooth, Adam, smooth. Now Guy will think you're a maniac.'_

            "Are you alright?"

            "Oh yeah, I'm fine. You just scared me that's all."

            "Imagine what you did to me," Guy laughed before growing serious and whispering to Adam, "Look, something's wrong with Charlie. I've tried everything to drag it out of him, but he won't budge. I know he'll tell you. You're his best friend. So please, for the sake of everyone, get it out of him."

            "That's what I came here to do," I told him truthfully. Guy smiled at me before yelling a good-bye to Charlie and sending me another worried look when our captain didn't respond. He closed the door after pushing me inside. I stood there for a few seconds, not sure if Charlie was aware I was in the room. 

            "What is it, Banksie?" Oh, so he _did_ know I was there. 

            "Um, well, I just wanted to uh, to talk. You know, I was just sitting there in my room…bored. So I came to see if you wanted to hang-out. You know, get stuff off your mind. I mean, if you don't want to, that's okay because I can just leave and go back to my room. I'm sure I have a book report due next week and I haven't even started reading the book. Do you know how incredibly taxing that is on your time? Book reports, I mean who ever thought of them anyway? I mean…What?" Charlie was laughing at me.

            "You are so funny, Banks. It's unbelievable. You crack me up, man!" 

            "It's great to know I'm good at _something_." This stopped his laughter pretty abruptly and I mentally slapped myself for that. Talk about self-pity.

            "Is there something you specifically wanted to talk about?" he asked me, patting a spot on his bed. I was supposed to sit there. On a bed. With Charlie Conway. And pretend that everything was okay. Impossible. Instead, I took a seat on Guy's bed, just to be safe with myself. 

            "Specifically? As in a certain topic of conversation? Nah, I just…I just wanted to, uh, catch up on things. We haven't had a chance to talk for awhile. You know, just me and you." Even when I was saying it, I could tell that Charlie wasn't buying any of my BS. Oh well, who said hockey players were good actors anyway? 

            Charlie was silent, watching me for a moment, which was very uncomfortable, before he spoke, "You know I know you much better than that so cut the bullshitting and get on with it." 

            "I was not-"

            "Yes you were!"

            "I was not!"

            "Were too!"

            "Was not!"

            "Were too!

            "Was not!"

            "Okay, you weren't bullshitting!" I had another 'was not' at the tip of my tongue, but I caught myself.

            "I wasn't?" 

            "Aha! I got you!" Charlie exclaimed triumphantly. Well that was certainly a character change from dinner.

            I sighed in defeat, "Yeah, you got me."

            "So talk Banks! I've been worried about you. This not talking thing doesn't suit you at all." 

            "So what _does suit me if you know me so well?" My palms were sweating despite the so-called confidence in my voice and I hoped Guy didn't notice the sweat when he laid down to sleep that night._

            "The talkative, sweet Adam." I was sure I turned bright pink at the compliment.

            "Uh, right. Thanks. I think."

            "So talk."         

            "Okay, okay, talking. Look I know you've been worried about me, but you see, I've been worried about you too," I held up my hands before he could interrupt me, "I know what you're going to say. But you see, I'm a pro at pretending that everything's alright when I need to talk to someone. Just look back all these years and my point will be proven. So save the excuses. I just want to know what's bothering you because you're my best friend Charlie," I froze. I wanted so badly to say, 'and I'm in love with you' but I was pretty sure it wouldn't go over well with him. _'I believe in you. Now you need to believe in yourself.' _Kori's voice echoed through my mind filling my self-confidence booster up to 50 percent. Maybe I could do this, "And as my b-best fr-friend, I…I love…you," my breath caught before I hastily blurted out, "So you better tell me what's wrong before I go crazy!" There. I did it. I think I did anyway. Now all I had to do was wait for his reaction. 

            I watched him look at me with these huge chocolate eyes, almost pleading with sorrow. I watched him look at the carpet as if trying to memorize the patterns, his curly brown hair unruly like it always was, just the way I liked it. I watched him lick his totally kissable lips, longing to bring my lips to his. I watched him run his hands through his hair, big strong hands that I wanted wrapped around me.

            "I…I l-love you t-too, Adam," his shaky voice snapped me back to reality, and for a moment, I thought he was saying he loved me. As in he loved me like I loved him. But when I realized he was just returning the statement carelessly, my hopes faded and I was welcomed back into the unwelcoming atmosphere that Charlie and I were in. 

            "Maybe you're right," Charlie sighed, "Maybe I do need to talk to someone about this. And you're probably the best person to talk to. You'll think I'm a freak."

            "Try me," I challenged.

            "It's just…It'll take some time for me to get this out. It's hard, you know?"

            "I have time," I assured him. Patiently, I waited for Charlie to get his thoughts organized, to figure out what he was going to say to me. Finally, he looked up at me, eyes full of sadness. I braced myself for him to say something like, 'I know your secret. I'm not like that. Please never talk to me again.' But…it didn't come. 

**Thanks for the reviews:**

**LB: ** Okay I lied, the slap is actually coming in a few more chapters. Sorry, but you know, it'll come. I'm not going to tell you when so it'll be a surprise. =D

**Sphinx the Minx: **That's what I'm talking about! But our Adam wouldn't just kiss Charlie…actually he would. Aww damn! Now I have to think of something else! Hehe thanks for reviewing!

**Chelsea****: Actually, the whole Jesse thing may be one thing that works itself out…you'll see =D**

**Please Review!!!**


	14. Chapter 14: Charlie

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!           **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, and Fulton's girlfriend. 

Charlie

***

            I was so confused. Who was I? What…What were those extremely frightening through revolving through my head? I looked up to find Adam watching me with intensifying blue eyes. They drew me to him, but I didn't want them to. It would only confirm my fears. So I looked at the floor, staring down the carpet, blue like Adam eyes. No! No blue, no blue! I seeked comfort in looking at my hands. What to tell him, what to tell my best friend. I looked up again, daring to gaze into my best friend's eyes. I _had_ to prove that I wasn't…but when I raised my eyes, his head was lowered, almost fearfully. 

            "You see," I was surprised to hear that it was me who had been speaking, that it was _my voice, "You see, I've been utterly confused for the past while."_

            "It-it's nothing, um, a-abnormal," he stammered, looking past me. What was going on?

            "N-no, it' not just normal confusion. I-I-I…I'm confused about who I am," I confessed.

            Adam paused and after a beat, he laid back on Guy's bed to stare at the ceiling, "What do you mean, who you are?" Sweat was spilling over my body and my heart was beating faster than it had been even before Goldberg made the last goal during the JV-Varsity showdown. What was I going to say? What was _he going to _do_?_

            "I don't know if I like girls or guys or both!" I blurted out. There was absolute silence. It was so quiet, it was loud. I refused to look up, but I don't think Adam was looking either.

            "Wh-what do you mean?" he asked, voice cracking slightly.

            "You're not…mad?" I responded with a question after a beat of shock and amazement.

            "Don't be ridiculous! Now elaborate," he demanded.

            "Well," I sighed, "You know I loved Linda and I liked Kori for awhile too."

            "Wait. Liked? Past tense?" Damn it, Charlie! You messed up again!

            "Well, you know I'm still wobbling on the fence here."

            "Oh, I see," he sounded slightly let down, but I didn't pay much attention to it.

            "But late I've been seeing posters, billboards, TV, and magazine ads of famous celebrities. _Male_ celebrities. And I find myself…attracted to them. Thinking they're cute, but I look at female celebrities and I still think they're cute. And what's more," I took in a deep breath. Once I got started, it was a lot easier, "I find myself eyeing guys in school, thinking about the blond hair…" I trailed off realizing I was thinking about the one person I _didn't_ want to be thinking about. Adam, "brown hair…you know, the muscles." I heard Adam take in a sharp breath.

            "Charlie?" he spoke with a tiny bit of unexpected satisfaction in his voice.

            "Adam."          

            "I think I can identify your…identity crisis."

            "You can?" I sat all the way up.

            "Yeah. You're bisexual," he threw the term out there casually as if it was used in my everyday vocabulary. But it wasn't.

            "Bi-bisexual?"

            "Don't sound so scared, Spaz." What was he talking about? Don't sound so scared? Was he crazy?

            "Wh-what?"

            "It's nothing to be afraid of, it's who you are." He sat up.

            "Sure you may accept it, you're my best friend but…" I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. We both fell silent, my muddy eyes focused on his beautiful ocean of eyes. I didn't even scold myself for thinking those thoughts, I just let myself fall. It was as if nothing was around us, like it was me and him and the rest of the world was gone. They could have jumped off the edge of the universe for all I cared. All I wanted was to get lost in Adam's eyes. I never wanted him to leave. And for a moment I caught desire flash across his eyes sending them into a deeper blue.

            "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, Connie. Good night. Hey…Charlie," Guy came into the room, catching a glimpse of us, "Uh…Banks? Charlie?" And with that, the magic connecting us was gone. Adam glanced at Guy frantically.

            "Hey Guys. I, uh, I got to go," Then he turned to me, "Charlie," he whispered, "Me too." Without so much as a good night, Adam was gone. What…What just happened?

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**Mestmaddi: **Yeah, Kori is kind Mary-Sueish…not so much as another OC I made in another story. Now _she_ is a Mary-Sue. Hehe, well try as I did, I couldn't make Kori not Mary-Sue oh well…I did try. But I kinda like her, she's kind of cool. Thanks for reading!

**Scootergirl: **Thanks, it's one of my favorite stories I've written =D

**Kellyerielf: **Yes, Bangst is a wonderful thing. Still I kind of feel bad for him for all the brutality dished at him. But I don't feel bad enough not to put Bangst in my story hehe, I'm so mean. Oh well. And no, you're not being whiny. I understand this tension mounting up, you know?

**Gothic Author: **I'll take your comment as a compliment…I think *smiles confusedly*. Oh well, thanks for reading!!!

**Flat*Out*Crazy: **How'd you know? Are you a mind reader or something? Okay, okay, just don't tell anyone else. Except it's probably predictable enough, hehe.

**LB: **SURPRISE!!!! Lol, sorry I do the cliff-hanger thing, although some of the chapters weren't too cliff-hangerish. =D

**Hilde7085: **Oh yes, I'm a horrible person. It's what I do…lol no I'm just joking. Here's another chapter for you, please don't kill me.

**Sphinx the Minx: **That _would_ be too easy for them. Besides the whole point of this story is for Charlie to realize he loves Adam, hence the title. Oops…did I just say that? Oh well, not like you didn't already know, lol.

**WeBuiltThisCityOnRockAndRoll: **Guy is hot, isn't he? Well, there's more of him in this chapter, hope you liked it!! It's okay, obsessions are only healthy…you're talking to an obsession freak here =D

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**


	15. Chapter 15: Kori

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!           **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, and Fulton's girlfriend. 

Kori

***

            "Hello?" Jesse asked again when I remained silent.

            "Jesse…" I said, barely above a whisper.

            "Yeah it's me. Who is this?"

            "Jesse." I repeated louder this time. There was a pause on the other end.

            "K-Kori?"

            "Yeah."

            "Oh…Oh my god. You disappear to that boarding school and we never hear from you again!"

            "Sorry. I had a lot on my mind when I got here and well…I…sorry." I finished lamely.

            "Ah, it's alright. Well, how the hell have you been?"

            "I've been better," I admitted, "But it's pretty cool over here. How about you? Anything happen with the foster family?"

            "Yeah," he began excitedly, "Yeah. A lot's been happening. About a week after you left the service worker people came to Bryan's house and announced that they found me a foster family. And you know the best part of it all? They live in the same area so I still go to Heartland with everyone. Oh and Heartland's been so incrediblely different without you around. So…empty. The halls are only filled with bright green and blue and when I look for the pink-" I cut him off.

            "Jesse I read the letter!" I blurted out. There was silence as I heard Jesse take in a breath. "I'm sorry I didn't call earlier," I continued, "But I didn't unpack the box where the memory book was stashed until tonight. I was afraid to. I was afraid that if I unpacked it, everything from Heartland would come back to me. I was afraid that there would be a missing piece; something I forgot to do while I was there."

            "And…was there?" he asked weakly.

            "Yes," I replied boldly, "Yes there was. Jesse, there's something I need to tell you."

            "I'm listening."

            "When I left Heartland, I knew I was leaving everything I had behind. I had the best friends I could ever ask for. And you were one of them. Sure, I tried my best to be a good friend to everyone, but when it came to you, everything was so much harder for me. It was like, we were so different yet we were so similar. And when I tried to be there for you I just…well I was stabbing in the dark really. I didn't know what I was doing and what you said in the letter, about never being able to repay me, you did. You were my friend and you cared and that's all I ever wanted. And if you ask me, you did a great job comforting me and telling me that it would be okay. And I thank you for that," I took in a deep breath. It was now or never, "And breaking up with Danielle? Me being wrong? Well, maybe it's good to be wrong every now and then. Jesse, I love you too. And don't call me Korienna."

            Jesse was silent for a second, "Korienna's a pretty name," he said finally. I smiled, remembering and old conversation that we'd had once. Could you say déja vu? Of course, we _were_ doing it on purpose. 

            "Are you suggesting something?"

            "Korienna Smith, you're prettier than you admit."

            "You're not so bad yourself Jesse Schroden." There was another silence.

            "I missed you Kori," Jesse said warmly.

            "I missed you too."

            "Kori, I'm glad you called and I'm glad I wasn't such a failure as a friend. But I…I…I can't."

            "Can't what?"

            "I can't love you." What? I bit my lip, tears welling in my eyes. I'd loved Jesse Schroden for a long time and when I finally thought maybe something would go right, it backfired in my face.

            "Why not?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

            "I just…I can't. I'm sorry. I…I have to go. Keep in touch, Kori. Bye."

            "Jesse-" It was too late. He'd hung-up. I sat there, staring at the phone in my hand. Finally I put it down, my tears winning their battle. I _knew I should have opened the box earlier. I __knew it was a bad idea to call Jesse. I'd just confessed my love to him and he threw it right back in my face! Now what was I supposed to do? Where was I supposed to run? _'Shane…___Jordan__…no I can't call them. They live near him!' Then I thought, _'KEVIN!'_ I picked up the phone and hastily dialed Kevin's cell phone number._

            "Hello?" my brother picked up.

            "Kevin. It's Kori," I said, not caring if my voice was shaky.

            "Kori? What happened? All you alright?" I lost it right there. No, I wasn't alright. How could I be alright? I burst into tears right there and choked out my story in between sobs to Kevin. Kevin listened carefully, not interrupting me once. 

            "Oh, Kori," he said sympathetically once I was done, "I'm sorry."

            "And you know what, Kev?" I sniffled, feeling fresh tears approach.

            "Kori…"

            "It hurts. It hurts like a mother fucking bitch. I didn't think it would hurt this bad, but it does. And I don't know what to do."

            "Kori. Listen, there's really nothing for you to do right now. I hate to say it, but all you can do is wait for the pain to go away. And it usually does."

            "It doesn't feel like it will."

            "It will," he assured me, "It will. I promise you it will. And if the pain gets too strong, I'm always here to talk to. I can't make the pain go away, but I can make it a little easier." 

            "Even when you're playing with your new band?" He'd formed a band with a bunch of new friends and he hated to be interrupted when they were rehearsing.

            "During breaks," he laughed. I smiled a little.

            "Thanks, Kevin."

            "I'm here for you when you need me. Just remember that."

            "I will. Listen, I have to go. Maybe get some sleep."

            "Good. You need it. Talk to you later."         

            "Yeah, okay."

            "I miss you."

            "I miss you too…bye."

            "Bye." We hung-up and I fell on my bed, happy for some peace and quiet. Suddenly, I remembered Adam. I wanted to find out how he did with Charlie, but I didn't have the energy to find out nor was I in the right mood. _'Tomorrow,' I reasoned with myself. _

            Sighing, I got up and headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. I grabbed a random oversized t-shirt from my drawer and put it on. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I was tempted to rip it off and put another one on. It was a t-shirt that Jesse had given me for Christmas about a month before I left. Around the time I found out about the divorce. It read _'Don't worry, be happy!' I choked back and sob and tried to go to sleep. But hard as I tried, the tears just kept threatening to fall and finally, I let them fall. I hoped this pain went away soon. _

**Thanks for the reviews:**

**Irigelbbub: **Thanks! They _are_ sweet together, huh? Well here's another chapter for you!

**Vinnies-Angel: **Hahaha!! Yeah I hate it when that happens, well thanks so much! Welcome back!

**Moonlight Phoenix1: **hehe, it's okay. You don't need to be ashamed, I understand. Thanks for getting around to reviewing it though! I'm glad you like the story!

**Scootergirl: **Well as for the Adam/Charlie drama, you'll be seeing more next chapter. I just needed you guys to get re-acquainted with Kori. =D

**LB: **You'll see, won't you? Well, of course Guy had to walk in! It's not supposed to end _that quickly! Lol, thanks for reading!_

**Hilde7085: **I hope that was good on Kori since you wanted more on her. At the pace this story's going, I'll be entertained for the whole school year! Yay for me! It's like, two stories in one! Hehe, ok well thanks for reading!

**Sphnix the Minx: **Maybe, just maybe Charlie has it. But even though we all love Charlie, he's a bit slow sometimes. =D

**Kellyerielf: **hahahaha!! I know it's obvious, but when you're in love, you're blinded. At least _they are. _

**Kshyne99: **Aww, thanks! Well weather you're able to tell or not, it _is my first shot at an MD slash. _

**Gothic Author: **Ooooh, I see. Yeah I guess that's a compliment. Yes Charlie is able to figure everything out except this. *sigh* I agree, slash is awesome.

**WeBuiltThisCityOnRockAndRoll: **Chels…you never cease to amaze me and I love your reviews. They make my day…no really they do. Well I hope you get a watch line! =D Yes, it's my first time doing MD slash. Thanks! 

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	16. Chapter 16: Charlie

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!           **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, and Fulton's girlfriend. 

**I BROKE 100 REVIEWS!! WHOO HOO! THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE!! (okay sorry about that, I didn't expect so many reviews when I first wrote this story.)**

Charlie

***

            "What was _that about?" Guy asked after Adam made his quick escape. I shrugged._

            "Nothing," I sighed happily. Without another word, I got into bed and fell into my dreamland. The last thing I heard was Guy muttering to himself.

            "I have to remember to thank Banks for getting him out of his slumber…"

            The next morning, I woke-up in a much better mood than I'd been in for past few weeks. Maybe it was because I'd told someone my secret. Maybe it was because I'd finally got it off my chest. Or maybe…I shook my head, erasing that thought. It was silly. Why would anything like that even be possible? But then again, he _had whispered, "Me too," the night before. _

            "Hey, Charlie! Look alive! What's up?" Portman greeted me, laughing. I rolled my eyes at him.

            "Nothing much, what's up with you?"

            "Wow, that was a normal response. Hold on while I call the newspapers, will you? Oh and keep that expression on your face. I haven't seen that since…I can't even remember." He joked. 

            "What's up with everybody being obsessed with my mood change?"

            "You've been in a slumber ever since Kori came into school. Does this have to do with her?" 

            "No, maybe it was a coincidence." Maybe it wasn't. Maybe when I met Kori, I started to have feelings for…no I didn't have feelings for him. What the hell was I thinking?

            "Whatever. Hey, Banksie came back relatively happier last night. He was practically skipping; it was kind of scary, really. What magic did you do on him while he was over in your room. You didn't…you didn't get him laid did you?" I blushed furiously even though I knew that Portman had only been joking. 

            "We just talked, that's all." But I couldn't help feeling pleased that he'd been happier. 

            "Well speak of the devil," Portman greeted Adam, nodding at him. Adam looked confused.

            "Were you talking about me, Portman? I thought we talked about this last night."

            "Hah," Portman snorted with a smile, "Last night, you could barely talk, you were _floating with happiness."_

            "So I was content with my life for once," Banksie blushed, "What's wrong with that?" 

            "Nothing." Adam looked carefully over at me and I smiled nervously back at him. Strangely, my palms were all sweaty and my heart was beating at 150 miles per hour. What the hell was wrong with me? I found my head subconsciously turning over to where Adam's face was and I found him looking back at me. Resisting the urge to snap my head away, I licked my lips and gulped down saliva. We were engaged in a staring match that Portman found amusing. I lost. 

            Kori came into the cafeteria at that moment and threw us a small smile. I had this ridiculous thought when I looked at her, _'Why don't I ask her what I should do about confusing love feelings?' _It was so crazy, I knew it would work. She was close with Adam. Wait. What did that have to do with anything? _'I don't like Adam…I don't like Adam…I don't…ok maybe I have a tiny little teensy weensy crush on him.'_ I admitted that much to myself before running up to Kori.

            "Hey Kori, what's up?" she looked up at me strangely.

            "Hey Charlie."

            "Can you help me figure something out?" I asked her. I silently patted myself on the back for that one. 

            "Why can't you ask Adam? He's a guy."

            "But…I did," I said hastily, crossing my fingers behind my back, "He told me to ask you."

            "He did, did he? Well I'll see what I can do. Come on, let's go outside so we can keep your…problem a secret."

            "Good idea." I followed her outside, relieved that I'd made up that great excuse on the spot. _'Drama club, here I come,'_ I thought jokingly to myself. 

            "So talk," Kori demanded.

            "Let's say, hypothetically, that this guy likes this, uh, person. I mean, he doesn't know for sure if he likes this person. He knows this other person isn't completely out of his league, but he's not sure how to tell if he really likes this person as…more than a friend. Hypothetically, how would he be able to tell?" Kori listened carefully then smiled to herself. 

            "Charlie, I think I know how you can tell."

            "It's not me, what are you talking about? It's just hypothetically."

            "Right, well I think I can help sort this out…hypothetically.

            "How?"

            "Well do you…I mean does this hypothetical guy find himself thinking about this other, uh, _person_ constantly? And when he thinks about this person, does he always try to deny that he has any feelings for this other person?"

            "Yeah! Exactly how I…I mean this hypothetical guy feels." 

            "Well, I hate to break it to this hypothetical guy, but I'd say that you were in love with this person. Hypothetically, of course."

            "Of course." She laughed softly before her face suddenly turned serious. 

            "Okay, Charlie. Cut the crap. Who is this person that you're deemed in love with?"

            "I'm not in love! What the hell are you talking about?" 

            "Charlie…"

            "What?" I was turning red and I was getting very, _very_ nervous. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Kori's palm was flying at me and she gave me a full-fledged bitch slap. I blinked twice, slightly stunned.

            "You're in love, you jackass!" she yelled at me, "And I know who it is too! Charlie Conway, you're head over heels for Adam Banks, you dumb fuck!" With that, she stalked away, shaking her head. I must have sat there for twenty minutes, completely shocked. 

            How did she know? And furthermore, how come she didn't seem at all disturbed by it? And how come I was always the last person to find everything out? Even when I was the one in love? Now that I thought about it though, it _had been pretty obvious. I should've been able to figure it out myself, but being the 'dumb fuck' that I was, it obviously didn't go through my thick skull. Looking back, I could remember countless amounts of times that I'd thought about Adam, refusing to believe that I had. And the night before, he'd admitted that he was gay. A small smile graced my lips. As I went back to the cafeteria, the small smile turned into an earsplitting grin. _

**Thanks for the reviews:**

**Hilde7085: **Don't worry, you'll find out about Jesse slowly. The Chadam's going to take over for the next chapter as well. Jesse will definitely come back. Don't worry about it.

**Moonlight Pheonix1: **Yes, I will tell you. Just not yet. I know, poor Kori. If that ever happened to me (which it won't because I can't even attract them in the first place =D), I'd be devastated.

**LB: **Eek…I better think of a good sequel then, lol. Jesse's…uh…fifteen seconds of fame will come soon.

**Chelsea****: Okay, that was a change. I didn't feel like typing out your user name, lol. Anyways, that was one hell of a review!! But I enjoyed reading it, it makes me happy. But I think I already told you that. You know, I never noticed that Mary-Kate and Ashley t-shirt saying thing. Hmm…well thanks!**

**Sphinx the Minx: ***shrugs* Jesse means what he means. Hey, he _is_ a guy you know. (sorry if there are any guys reading this…). I'm glad I'm not allowed to date yet =D. Good luck with college and thanks for reading even though you're exhausted!

**Irigelbbub: **Thanks for reading!! I hope this is soon enough for ya! =D

**Gothic Author: **I guess he doesn't…so sad, so sad…

**Vinnies-Angel: **OMG ME TOO!!! Yeah, I started high school this year too. Can you say work load? Anyway, thanks about the writing. I try, I try =D. Well whenever you think of the question, you can always e-mail me, the address is in my profile. Oh and please do something with your stories. Sometime. In the near distant future. Please?

**Geometrygal: **BRITTS!!! Whoo hoo, let's have a party in Chadam! Lol, well anyway I still can't figure out why we need boys. It'll always be a big mystery to me…oh and I want to kick Jesse's ass too, but I know what he's going to do and stuff so I can't. I have to let him do it first. And _then_ I'll kick his ass. =D You should definitely try some Stoda (steve and soda, lol sorry I made that one up on the spot…) fic. I think you'd pull it off great. Oh and Dustin is defnitely HOT HOT HOT! I think the rest of them are a little hard on his dimwitted-ness. I feel bad for the guy. You know who else is hot? Hunter. But that's just me. Maybe. Welcome back!

**Jetta: **Thank you very much! I love relationships too…throw in a little angst in there and I'm good. =D

**Kellyerielf: **Yeah, I know not too many people are interested in Kori and all, but I felt like I'd just leave you guys hanging if it didn't happen. But there will be more and Chadam is on my mind for awhile now. So…for the next few chapters there will be Chadam and a tiny bit of Kori problems, though she'll mostly be helping Adam. That's all I'm saying. Thanks!

**I have a horrible feeling I forgot someone so if it was you, I DIDN'T MEAN IT!! THANKS!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	17. Chapter 17: Kori

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!           **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, Bryan, Jesse, and Fulton's girlfriend (who's Kori's roomate but she's not really in this story.) 

Kori

***

            I didn't know if that slap hurt Charlie at all, but I really _hoped it did. He really needed to wake-up. I headed back to the cafeteria, my previous good mood vanishing. Though I couldn't say that talk with Charlie didn't enlighten things a little. I bit back a smile at Charlie's obliviousness at how oblivious he had been. _

            "Hey Kori!" Adam called out my name and ran over to me, a gleeful smile plastered to his face. I forced an over-cheery smile back at him.

            "Hey Adam. What's got _you_ in such a good mood?"

            "Charlie Conway," he whispered, "I have so much to tell you. Meet me at our bench after we eat." I nodded wordlessly, making my way to the food line. It wasn't that I wasn't unhappy for Adam and Charlie. Actually, I was a bit relieved that they sorted this out; it was driving me crazy. Couldn't both of them _see how much they belonged together? But still, the little selfish side of me nagged at my happiness for them. Who would be there for me now what I needed a shoulder to cry on? Who would need __me for support?_

            I sat alone during breakfast hoping I was sending off, "Go away!" vibes. If anyone sat with me, I doubt I would've been paying attention to half of what they were saying anyway. My thoughts kept traveling back to the night before. The words Jesse had said. What I couldn't understand was _why_? Sure two months was a long time, but was it long enough to stop loving someone completely? Out of nowhere, the wave of depression I'd been waiting for hit with a full blow. _'It's definitely a sign,' _I thought to myself, _'Maybe I should just give up on boys. Give up on love. I'm just not meant to be loved.'_ I decided for myself, wandering in my own world. I had thought I knew what it was like to hurt when Steve died. I thought I knew what pain was when I left Kevin and my mom and moved with my dad. I thought I could take it when I gave up on Charlie. But for some reason, this pain was more than all of that. It was all of that put together, only _more_. And I didn't know why. 

            "Kori, you ready?" the deep voice I'd long since recognized said from not too far away. I glanced down at my tray, noticing my food had gone totally untouched.

           "Yeah," I told him standing up. We made a pit stop at the garbage can before heading out to our bench. But how long until it wasn't our bench anymore? _'Stop it,' I scolded myself, __'You're being selfish! Just because Adam's finally on his way to happiness doesn't mean that you have to be happy too. I mean, you are_ happy. Just not with Jesse. So stop it!'_ _

            "So…anything exciting happen last night while I was confronting Charlie?" Adam asked me, detecting that something was up. Besides, I had barely said a word to him and we'd been walking for a few minutes already. 

            "Nothing really exciting," I replied. It was true. What happened to me wasn't exciting; there wasn't much to be excited about. 

            "Well did anything happen?" he tried again.

            "Things _always happen," I said vaguely, trying not to give away too much without lying to him. He stopped abruptly and put both hands on my shoulders._

            "Korienna Smith, would you just tell me what the hell is wrong?!" he yelled at me, concern etched in his features. I blinked a few times, surprised by his outburst before shrugging his hands off and muttering,

            "Don't call me Korienna." Why ruin his moment of glory with my stupid problems? He sighed and sat on the bench. I took a seat beside him.

            "Kori, look. I may not have known you for such a long time, but I've spent enough time with you to know when something's up. And something's up right now. Would you quit the bullshitting and just tell me what the fuck is going on?!" I looked up at him and sighed as well.

            "Look Adam, I know I'm being a real bitch to hang around right now. But what's wrong with me doesn't matter. I want to know what happened last night with you. _That's what matters right now." _

            "No!" Adam argued, "Tell me right now!"

            "Why?"

            "Because if you don't tell me first, I'm not going to tell you what happened with him," he said discreetly hiding the identity of the person so that anyone who'd happen to be listening wouldn't suspect anything. 

            "Fine," I muttered.

            "Good. Now talk." Miserablely, I told him about finding the book, finding the letter from Jesse. 

            "When I went to school at Heartland, Jesse was the one that caught my eye."

            "Jesse Hall?"

            "No," I rolled my eyes, "Jesse Schroden. A different guy. I knew I couldn't get him though because he was totally out of my league. He was a preppy jock, something like you, and I was a 'Neon Haired Freak'. Two people like that just weren't meant to be. And I understood that, but I still liked him a lot. He reminded me of my oldest brother, only younger. Except for the fact that he'd been a real ass to be in the beginning. Shane and Jordan were my only friends. And so one day, in my first week, I was talking to Bryan McCauly, the boy who's locker was next to mine. He was a preppy jock too, but he was really nice. Jesse approached him and gave me this look. And then he impulsively offered to take me to homeroom since neither Jordan nor Shane was there. From that day on, he'd said hi to me in the halls whenever nobody else was around and I understood that because his social status was vital to him. When we got assigned to do a project together, we got to know each other better. And soon he was talking to me and sitting with me at lunch and everything. He wasn't that asshole anymore. And I really really liked him. He was a great friend."

            "What happened?" Adam asked, fully concentrating on my story.

            "I found a letter he stuck in a memory book Jordan, Shane, Bryan, and Jesse had made for me before I left. Jesse wrote about how he loved me. As more than a friend. And when I called him, he said he couldn't love me anymore," I told Adam, feeling tears stinging at my eyes. I blinked rapidly thinking that I could hold them back. 

            "What? What the hell did he mean?"

            "I don't know," I said, "I just wish that he's stuck around longer to tell me why. He just said he had to go after her told me that. And he told me to keep in touch with him."

            "That fucking bastard! _Keep in touch_?"

            "Adam, stop. Please." I pleaded with him. Adam looked at me and his features softened.

            "Oh  Kori…I'm really sorry. You're so much better without that bastard anyway."

            "But I'm not, Adam. I want to know _why_. What happened and why can't he love me anymore?" We were silent for a minute. Adam scooted closer to me and wrapped his arms around me, enveloping me into a big hug. I clung onto him, a few stray tears that I couldn't hold back sliding down my cheeks. Adam pulled away and used his thumbs to wipe the tears away. 

            "So what happened with you and Charlie?" I asked him quietly. He shook his head, but I insisted that he tell me. It would definitely make me happier. So he sat there, recounting for every single thing that happened the night before, every single detail. And I made sure that he didn't miss anything. The look on his face when he finished after he whispered his final words before leaving the room was priceless. It was liked looking at a little kid who was told that he could have any toy in the world. I smiled widely at him, loving that he was smiling too. 

            "Adam, that's great!" I told him, jumping up. Adam laughed.

            "Yeah, I know. You were right, Kori."

            "I was?"

            "Talking works. And maybe that's what you should do about Jesse," he whispered in my ear as we headed back to school. Maybe he was right. 

**Thanks for the reviews:**

**Irigelbbub: **HAHAHAHA!!!! Yeah, well Charlie needed to wake-up somehow didn't he?

**Enchantres: **It IS?!?!? Holy shit! I didn't know that! Thanks!! The _best Adam/Charlie? I wouldn't say so. I've read better. But thanks!_

**Gothic Author: **You know, for some reason, I _knew_ you'd like Spaz getting slapped. Thanks for reviewing!

**Jetta: **You're allowed to review as many times as you wanna review =D. Awww that's so sweet of you to check for updations!!

**LB: **And you're right again!! Wow you're good at this, lol. Yes I worked hard on The Slap. Bright future coming right up!

**Sphinx the Minx: **Yeah, I know…it's a beautiful moment in Charlie Conway history. I'm working on him finding Adam and telling him. Don't you worry!

**Moonlight Phoenix1: **They'll kiss eventually, they _have_ to. I'd be mad at myself if they didn't, lol. 

**Anne: **Oh yes, the pricless slap. When does that happen to Charlie Conway?

**Eternity1: **Yes we'll be getting a kiss soon. Very soon. Like…in the next few chapters. But as for the rest of the ducks…I don't know…you'll see!

**Hilde7085: **Oh Kori…Kori and Jesse. Well that holds an interesting future.

**ZombieGurl98: **I wish tomorrow would've been possible…sorry! I'll try and update sooner from now on!

**Percussion: **Thanks for loving it!!!

**Please review!**


	18. Chapter 18: Adam

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!      **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, Bryan, Jesse, and Fulton's girlfriend (who's Kori's roomate but she's not really in this story.) 

Adam

***

            I felt really horrible for Kori. She definitely didn't deserve anything that had been dished to her by Jesse, that son of a fucking bitch. What right did he have to go and trash her heart without so much as a reason? I sighed in frustration. There _had to be something I could do to cheer her up, but what could it be? _

            "Adam?" someone knocked on my door. Sighing I got up to go get it. Didn't Portman have the key? But when I opened it, my breath caught in my throat. It was Charlie. 

            "Um…hey."

            "Hi…So what are y-you up to today?" My heart beat at an increasing speed.

            "N-nothing really. Why?"

            "No reason." Suddenly I had an idea.

            "Charlie?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Kori's upset about something; really upset. We should do something to make it up to her." 

            "Is she okay? What can we do?" Charlie was immediately interested. I smirked and pulled him into the room. Shutting the door behind him, I motioned for him to take a seat somewhere. He plopped himself down onto Portman's bed. I dropped onto the floor. First, we'd make Kori happy again. Then, I'd attack him with kisses. 

            I told Charlie about my plan and quickly we went to work on it. We grabbed the school directory and looked up the schedule for free time. We hastily took a bus over to the nearest department store and picked up a few supplies. When we got back, Charlie used my cell phone to make reservations; to make sure that no one else was there when we would be there. I used the room phone and called up Kori. 

            "Hello?" she picked up tiredly on the other end.  

            "Hey Kori, feeling up for some excitement today?" I asked her. 

            "Today? Sorry, I don't really…"

            I cut her off, "That's great! Meet me in the school parking lot."

            "What? When? Where?"

            "School parking lot," I repeated before looking over at Charlie who'd already hung-up. He held up six fingers. I nodded, "At six tonight."

            "Why?"

            "Sorry, I have to go. I'll see you later!" I hung-up before she could react. Charlie and I broke into a fit of laughter, holding on to each other for support. I looked up in the middle of a fit and caught Charlie's eye. Our giggles subsided as quickly as they came, falling into a loud silence. We stared at each other, less than a centimeter apart, my heart beating at a rate that would kill the driver of a car should it have crashed. The blood was rushing to my head and I couldn't think straight anymore. All I was visualizing was Charlie and me. Together. Kissing. That was the trigger. That was it. I leaned closer to him and he leaned closer to me, our lips on the verge of touching into what would be considered a kiss. But the door creaked and we jumped apart, both a furious shade of red. 

            "Hey guys," Portman nodded at both of us.

            "H-hey," Charlie stuttered. I made myself busy as I packed up what I needed to bring with me to meet Kori in the parking lot. 

            "We should get going," I said hastily to Charlie. He nodded and, without a good-bye, we fled out of my room. As Charlie packed his stuff in his room, my thoughts wandered. What was that little lean in he did as I was leaning towards him? Did that mean that he could possibly love me too? I mean I already knew that he was interested in men and he knew that I was too. _'Adam, shut up. You're being delirious!' _I told myself. But still, a little part of me knew I wasn't being delirious. And I liked that little part of me better. 

            "Let's go." Charlie came out of his room. Neither of us said a word about what happened in my room before Portman came in. Actually, neither of us said a word at all. It was exactly six when we reached the parking lot and I could see Kori in the distance, walking towards us. Even in the way that she walked, I could tell that the day hadn't been easy for her to get through. My blood boiled through my veins and I wanted to find that Jesse guy right that second and punch him as hard as I could. 

            "Hi!" I smiled at the smaller girl. Kori forced a smile back.

            "Hey Adam. Hi Charlie. What's up?"

            "Come with us," Charlie pulled on her arm and started to run. I lugged all our equipment and pulled up the rear. 

            "But wait, where are we going?!" Kori yelled after Charlie. 

            He didn't respond. Kori cast a glance over her shoulder at me and I just shrugged. We reached the building and the two of us practically pushed Kori inside. She froze and her eyes widened. 

            "Wh-what are we doing here?" she asked fearfully.

            "You taught me how to overcome my fears," I told her, "Now you're going to overcome yours." Charlie thrust the bag with the bathing suit in it to her in agreement. 

            "No, you guys I haven't been in a pool for the longest time! I can't do this!"

            "You'll never know unless you try. I hope that's the right size. We were having a hard time with the sizes at the store. It's a 32."

            "That's my size," she responded automatically before blushing.

            "Come on Kori," I pleaded with her, "Please just try it. For us." She looked at Charlie and then she looked at me and I tilted my head towards Charlie. She squeezed her eyes shut before entering the locker room. She was going to do it.

**Thanks for the reviews:**

**Irigelbbub: **You'll see what happens with her in the next chapter…

**Jetta: **Yeah, she's an amazing person. If this wasn't a slash story, I'd put her and Adam together. =D

**Vinnies-Angel: ***grins* Okay! That's a deal! I can't wait! You know, you're story, Their Secret Lives, was the first slash story I'd ever read. It's YOUR fault I'm writing this!! Lol j/k. I thank you for getting me interested (and eventually LOVING) slash. 

**Sphinx the Minx: **Charlie and Adam sitting in a tree! Lol, well their moment will come very soon.

**Hilde7085: **Well right now I feel like I'm on a roll. So it'll be very soon.

**Hot-pepper96: **haha, the action…you _do mean the Chadam action right? _

**Flat*Out*Crazy: **Yeah, eventually they will. But we'll have to see how long it takes, won't we? *Hint: It won't take that long…possibly the next chapter*

**Anne918: **I love it when Adam's happy, don't you?! Yeah, the Kori and Adam friendship works out great in this story.

**LB: **Ah, your Jesse moment will be in the next chapter. I think it'll be a long chapter too. Hopefully I don't get stuck or something. 

**Gothic Author: **Yeah, I agree. I mean, he's so innocent sometimes…=D

**Kellyerielf: **hehe, don't worry about it. Yes, I can tell that you liked those last chapters. Thank you very much! Their lip action will be coming soon. I think the story's actually almost done. There are like, four more chapters. At least that's what I'm predicting. Give or take one or two. Yeah…well thanks!

**PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	19. Chapter 19: Kori

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!      **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, Bryan, Jesse, and Yolanda (Fulton's girlfriend).

***Everyone, bathing suit sizes are a lot different than regular sizes. A lot of you said you were confused…lol I'm a swimmer, which is one reason why I made her have a past of swimming too. The smallest swimmer on my team wears a size 28, which is tiny by the way lol. **

***Oh yeah! In the 2nd chapter, it mentions her and swimming. Just thought I'd clear that up. Thanks!**

Kori

***

            I stepped out gingerly onto the pool deck, the tingly feeling returning to my toes. I hadn't been in a pool since the day of my shoulder injury a few years back. Sure, I swam occasionally at the beach with my family, but it was nothing like when I swam and dove for my old team. Adam and Charlie watched me from the nearby bleachers. 

            "Are you ready?" Adam asked, getting up from his seat and making his way down onto the deck where I stood. Sighing, I glanced around the pool area, taking in the smell of chlorine that I used to hate being in my hair all the time. But when I stood there after three years of being out of the loop, I found it comforting; reassuring almost. The deep blue water was deep—10 feet deep— and it was completely still, as if waiting for me to send ripples through it. But I was still scared. What if, when I dove off the blocks, I'd slip again? What if I hurt myself? 

            "I don't know," I told Adam truthfully, setting my goggles and cap on the side so that I could put my hair up. Quickly slipping on the cap and pulling the goggles on the top of my head, I regained a sliver of confidence. This was a familiar feeling. The tightness pulling at my head and the comforting strength the goggles held over my eyes. 

            "You can do it," Charlie stood up next to Adam, "I know you can." With a shaky leg, I put one foot on the blocks and then another. I cast another glance back at Adam and Charlie, standing side by side, totally meant for each other but not knowing it just yet. If I had it my way, they'd be together by the end of the week. But I remembered what it had been like for them to admit their feelings, not to each other, but to me. But how obvious it had been to me at the same time. I remembered how scared each boy had been to tell the other boy the truth about his sexuality. I remembered that it had been a living hell. And if they could do it, I knew that I owed it to them to show them I could do something too. Without a second thought, I precariously pushed myself up onto the block all the way. I could do this. My heart beat erratically, thumping in my ears. I took in a few breaths to steady myself and make sure that I didn't slip. 

            "Okay Kori," I whispered to myself, hearing it echo through the pool, "You can do this." Taking in one last breath, I bent down into a racing ready position. 

            "On your mark," the boys chanted, "Get set…" Before they could say 'go' I sprung myself off of the block and dove into the blue oasis. As I streamlined and surfaced, I took my first stroke in three years. And it felt good. The cool water slid off my body as I took another stroke. I reached the other end and did a flip-turn. I surfaced and stood on the shallow end of the pool. I did it. The grin on my face was only a trace of what I was feeling. 

            "You did it, Kori! I knew you could do it!" Adam walked quickly to where I was starting to get out of the pool. Charlie and Adam both pulled me out of the pool and hugged me, despite the fact that I was wet. I laughed as I retracted from the hug and ripped the cap and goggles off of my head. Dripping, I tackled both boys and pushed them into the pool, jumping in after them. 

            "Thank you guys so much!" I shouted at the top of my lungs happily. They smiled at me and then at each other before picking me up and throwing me back in. I came up sputtering and gave them a dangerous look.

            "Oh it's war," I told them, "It's war!" I tackled them again, all three of us laughing like idiots. At least we were happy idiots.

            I was still smiling when I got back to my dorm room later that night. I threw my bag of newly bought swimming equipment into the middle of the room and sighed happily. There was absolutely nothing that could possibly bring me down. At least I didn't think so.

            "What's gotten into you?" Yolanda came out of the bathroom, grinning. 

            "I have the best friends in the world, you know that?" I told her, dropping onto my bed. 

            Yolanda laughed, "Well, Miss. Cheery, how about dinner? Just me and you. You can tell me everything that changed your mood from Miss. Depressed to Miss. Happy. This morning you were still moping around the room about…well you were moping. Now you're all cheerleader mode on me," she paused, "Does a certain boy by the name of Adam Banks have anything to do with this?"

            "He has _everything to do with it. Him and Charlie Conway," I said grinning crazily, "They're so sweet!" I started explaining everything that had happened to me that night and Yolanda listened intently, adding in the perfect sound effects at the perfect time. There was a knock at the door in the middle of the water fight amongst us. Yolanda rolled her eyes and opened it. It was Fulton. _

            "Hey Kori?" he said, slightly confused.

            "Yeah?"

            "Look out your window."

            "Why?" I challenged.

            "Just do it." 

            Yolanda and I exchanged curious glances and I headed over to the window. I gasped in surprise and half-horror at who I saw. Jesse Schroden. Making a fool out of himself outside my window. I opened the window and crossed my arms over my chest at the sign carrying man of my dreams. He held up a bright pink sign, not to be missed at all, with the words, 'I WAS WRONG' emblazoned across them. On his chest, he wore a sign that read, 'JACKASS OF THE MILLENIUM'. 

            "You were wrong?" I shouted down to him. 

            Jesse nodded, "Completely wrong. About everything. Please hear me out."

            "And what are you going to do if I say no?"

            "Beg you and not leave here until you say you'll listen to me."

            I stared at him.

            "Please, Kori. Just give me five minutes. That's all I need." A crowd had already started to form around Jesse, a total stranger on the Eden Hall campus. All eyes were on me and suddenly I felt like Juliet. Except without the tragedy part. I sighed and raced down the steps. 

            "Five minutes," I said to Jesse, panting, "And after that I can leave?"

            "After the five minutes, if you still don't forgive me, you can slap me and never speak to me again," he said rather sincerely. 

            "Five minutes." 

            He smiled and grabbed my arm, leading me towards the back of the courtyard, where we'd have privacy. I gasped again. He planned this. There was a picnic blanket laid out on the grass, totally untouched by anything or anyone. I took a seat and he sat next to me. We were silent for a minute.

            "Your five minutes are running cold," I told him matter-of-factly. 

            "Oh right," he snapped out of whatever daze he was in, "The truth is, Kori, I'm a jackass who couldn't see that what he'd been looking for was right in front of my face the whole time. What I said the other night was complete bullshit."

            "Then why'd you say it?" I shot back at him, feeling tears tugging at my eyes. I turned away.

            "Because I was scared," he admitted, "I was a freaking pansy. I was scared that if I commit to you, you'd find another rich guy and want to replace me completely. I didn't know if you were just saying that or something."

            "But Jesse, I wouldn't do that to you. And I thought you knew that."

            "I did. I just didn't know how much I still loved you. After you left, I waited for your call day after day. Bryan told me to just write you or call you or something. He told me I was wasting my time waiting. But I was too cowardly to look you up and contact you; I just kept waiting. After a month, I stopped waiting. I told myself that, if you hadn't called by then, you weren't interested. I was heartbroken and every night, I'd imagine you with some other preppy. I was training myself to get over you. And it was starting to work, at least until you called. It mixed everything up for me and I just didn't know what to do. A part of me told me to go back to you and another part of me told me that I'd gone this far already. I took the bastard's way out. And after I hung-up, I realized how much I still wanted you, missed you, _needed_ you. So I told my foster parents about it and they bought me tickets to fly here and make it up to you. It was the first flight they could get," he paused and I could hear tears in his voice, "And I just wanted you to know that whatever happens tonight, I love you." And there were those three words in person. I turned to face him, tears brimming my eyes. He wasn't doing much better with his tears either. And that was my trigger. I burst into tears, sobbing because of the personal relief and because I didn't know what to do or what was right. Jesse looked startled for a moment before he reached out and put his hand on my shoulder. Seeing that I wasn't going to shrug him off, he scooted closer to me and wrapped his arm around my waist, hugging my tightly. I felt his body shake from the silent tears running down his cheeks. 

            "I just don't know anymore," I cried into him.

            "D-don't know what?"

            "I just don't know what's right."

            "What feels right?" 

            I was silent. I stopped crying, though I didn't let go of Jesse. The sweet scent of him radiated through his body and it was familiar, a scent I was honestly clinging onto and never wanting to let go. What did I want? What felt right? I knew what I wanted, that was for sure. I just didn't know if it was the right thing to do. _'If you want it, then it's right.'_ I told myself. 

            "You," I replied in a barely audible tone. Jesse stopped for the moment; I felt him freeze. He pulled back from me a little and looked down into my eyes. I gazed right back at his. And there was a moment of magic that I would never forget ever again. Jesse tightened his grip around my waist and leaned down towards my lips. I met him halfway. We pulled apart and smiled at each other. 

            "I hope you're hungry," Jesse said after a moment of silence, getting up from our seated position. I was immediately cold. In my haste to leave the dorm room, I forgot to bring a jacket, assuming I'd only be outside for five minutes. But, just like Jesse, I forgot how much I loved him and wanted him. 

            "What do you mean?" I asked, shivering slightly.

            "I brought dinner." He pulled out a picnic basket from behind a tree and started arranging the plates and the sandwiches out in front of me. He pulled out marble frosted brownies, my favorite. 

            "How did you…what…you planned this all!" I accused him, grinning.

            "Guilty," he shrugged.

            "But how did you know?"

            "I didn't. I took my chances. You're definitely worth it." 

            "Well I'm glad I gave you five minutes. You can have to whole night now."

            "Oh really? Feeling generous today, aren't we Korienna?"

            "Don't call me Korienna!"

            "Sure thing, Korienna!" 

            "Jesse!!" 

            He laughed and crawled over to me, hugging me and making me all warm and tingly inside. I hugged him back.

            "Jesse?" I whispered.

            "Yeah?"

            "Don't leave."

            "I don't want to, but I do have to go back on Sunday night for school…"

            "No," I cut him off, "Don't ever leave me."

            He nodded, knowing exactly what I meant, "I'm not that jackass anymore, Kori."

            "Good."

**Please Review!!**

**Jetta: **hehe, well Adam can't ignore the love that's burning inside him for Charlie…hey that's good. Thanks! =D

**LilRebl55: **Awww…thanks so much!!! You're so sweet! Hey, my name's Mel too…well my nickname is. Whoa! That's such a coincidence! =D Sorry I'm a lil' hyper…

**LB: **HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, that last chapter was short. I hope this one's better…

**Chelsea****: I'm sorry!! If you reviewed, maybe I accidentally missed it! But how? Your reviews are hard to miss =D…stupid me!! Well thanks so much for reading and loving this story. Oh yeah, Too Young will have a new chapter soon!**

**Hilde7085: **Yeah, the swimming was in the 2nd chapter when they were talking about sports. Hehe, well you don't think I'd let them kiss _that easily, do you? =D_

**Sphinx the Minx: **We'll see a kiss soon. I'll tell you that much. It won't be in the next chapter, though. Maybe in two. =)

**Moonlight Phoenix1: **Awww, you're not a turd. It's okay. Hehe, he _is_ a good girlfriend isn't he?

**Eternity: **Almost kissing is a good start to a relationship. =)

**Hot-pepper96: **Ah, don't worry abou it. It'll come. Soon.

**Anne918: **You were on the edge of your seat? Cool…never had that before. Well thanks!

**Kellerielf: **The confrontation of the century is in the next chapter!!! Whos POV do you suggest? Oh and I hope this is soon enough =D


	20. Chapter 20: Charlie

**Summary: **A new girl comes to Eden Hall, befriending Adam. He's able to tell her anything he wants to. Except for one thing. She's falling in love with the guy he's falling in love with. *SLASH*

**Author's Note: **This is my first shot at MD slash so please bear with me here. 

**This is slash so if you don't like it…DON'T READ IT!      **

**Disclaimer: **I only own Kori, Shane, Jordan, Bryan, Jesse, and Yolanda 

Charlie

***

            "Did you hear about what happened to Kori?" Fulton asked at breakfast the next morning. Did I hear about it? No. But I saw it. At first I was a little confused as to why a random guy would be trying to win Kori over, but Adam explained it to me. And I wanted to punch him, but after seeing what he was doing for her, coming all the way to Eden Hall to see her, my feelings of anger kind of subsided. 

            "Yeah I did. Kori called me and told me everything that happened," Adam replied shoving a piece of toast into his mouth. Adam. He seemed to be all that was on my mind for the past few days. When I found out he liked guys too, I was elated. I spent the whole night anticipating what I would say to him the next day. But I refused to believe that I liked him as anything more than a friend. Until the previous day. 

            The way Adam looked at me in his dorm room after we hung-up with Kori was a look I'd never received from anyone else in my entire life. They weren't looks of admiration or appreciation like I was used to from Linda. No, they were more than that. In his crystal blue eyes, I saw love, desire, and want. It was like a ball of emotions rolled into one. And at that very moment, I knew what I wanted. _Who_ I wanted. But Portman chose that time to come into the room. Still I'd spent the whole night thinking about Adam. And Adam only. I knew what it was. It was something stronger than anything I have ever felt for another human being. Ever. The only time I'd felt remotely like this was when I was with Linda and even that faded away eventually. But this. This was something else. It was a release of feelings within me reserved for one person and one person only by the name of Adam Banks. 

            I glanced around the table at everyone who I had grown-up with and loved. My eyes rested on Adam, head bent low over his tray and nibbling away at the so-called food the Eden Hall faculty so kindly provided us. He was beautiful. His blond hair, only half as gelled as it was normally and his signature polo shirt left untidy and untucked as if he had been in some great rush to leave the room that morning. I sighed inwardly, wishing I could reach across the table and plant a big kiss on his lips right there for everyone to see. But I couldn't. Not there anyway. He looked up and met my eyes, dropping the last piece of toast that was in his hand. I had tugging feeling at the back of my mind that I should look away before he thought anything of my stare. But it was already too late for Adam was staring right back at me with those warm, inviting eyes. Gulping, I managed a small smile directed at him. He smiled back and I looked down at my food quickly, tearing my eyes away from the boy before me. Nobody noticed anything; they were all still talking about what Jesse had done for Kori. 

            I had seen something in Adam's eyes that I hadn't ever seen before. Sure I'd looked him in the eyes multiple times prior but I had never noticed that little gleam that was so truly and surely there. I never noticed the exhaustion in his eyes. But it was there and it was then that I realized. Adam had loved me for a long time. 

            Kori entered, Jesse trailing her and both of them looking extremely happy. I didn't remember seeing Kori so happy the whole time that she had been at Eden Hall. Everyone greeted her cheerfully and she introduced Jesse to the table, "And that's Adam Banks and Charlie Conway." My head snapped up at the mention of my name. 

            "Uh…hey." Adam and I said at the same time. Kori gave me a look, one that only I knew the meaning of. It was her 'You-know-what-you-have-to-do-so-go-do-it' look with a slight tilt of her head in Adam's direction. I glanced over at Adam to see that he was having a conversation with Jesse. I faced Kori again. She smiled at me with encouragement and mouthed, 'Go'. I nodded and took in a deep breath. Throwing down my twisted and ripped my napkin, I scraped my chair back and stood up. 

            "Um, Adam," he looked up, "Can I, uh…can I talk to you for a minute? Outside?" He nodded slowly and stood up, picking up his tray. Kori stopped him.

            "I got it. Just go, okay?" she sent him a knowing smile and he smiled back at her. Portman gave him a thumbs-up that no one else noticed. 

            "Okay," Adam said easily, only a hint of nerve racking his voice, "Thanks." He nodded at me briefly and I led the way out to the courtyard. It was silent as we walked towards the doors of the school, each staring at the ground with great interest. Never had I been so fascinated with the tiling of the school hallways. The air between us wasn't exactly comfortable and neither of us was exactly relaxed and joking around. It was quite the opposite and I hated it. I wanted it to go away and I wanted to just be comfortable. _'And the only way to do that is to tell him how you really feel.' I told myself, taking in several shaky breaths as we pushed the doors open, exposing us to the whipping Minnesota cold. _

            "So…what's up?" Adam asked stopping under a tree, leaning against it and looking at me intently. I wanted to just grab him and mash my lips against his. But I didn't. I stayed put even though I did start licking my lips and wringing my hands. It was probably freezing outside, but I was too nervous to notice. 

            "Um, well…I, we…need to talk," I stammered stupidly. 

            "We do?" And for a second, it almost seemed as if he was just as nervous as me, "About what?"

            "Stuff. Important stuff."

            "What's wrong?"

            "Well, nothing's _wrong_, exactly. It's more like…what's right." 

            Adam stared at me with a confused expression. I sighed and paced back and forth in front of him, feeling my heart pounding in my head, if that made any sense at all. There _had_ to be an easier way to tell someone that you truly and desperately loved them. Right? Why was this so damn hard? Why? 

            "Charlie?" Adam asked softly, clapping his hand onto my shoulder and stopping me from wearing a hole into the moist grass. 

            I shrugged, letting him know that I was listening, but refusing to look up and meet his eyes. I feared what would happen if I did. But, I had to admit to myself, the feeling that rushed through me, was anything but unpleasant. Still I would definitely give myself away. _'But that's the point, dumbass. Just tell him!'_

            "What's wrong?" Adam asked, his hand slightly slipping off of my shoulder. The sudden gust of wind whipped around me as I ventured to lift my head slightly, my insides screaming for his hand to replace itself on my shoulder. And there were his bright, crystal clear eyes looking right into mine. Again. 

            "I like you!" I blurted out abruptly, not able to control the words coming out of my mouth. 

            "Uh…thanks. I like you too," he replied matter-of-factly.  

            "No," I hastily continued before I lost my nerve, "I mean…I _like you." There. I said it. The brief moment that followed my confession was probably even more terrifying than the moment it took for me to say it. My eyes darted everywhere around the courtyard, anywhere to get away from Adam's captivating gaze. My palms were sweaty and practically soaking through the fabric on my jeans. My heart was banging in my chest and my brain was going absolutely haywire. _

            "Charlie-" he started.

            "No, no! I'm sorry," I repeated hysterically, "I'm just really sorry. If you never want to speak to me every again, I totally understand. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" But I didn't get to finish. The next thing I knew Adam's lips were against mine and I was against the tree trunk. He was…he was kissing me. When we broke apart, Adam stepped back and watched me. Despite the below freezing weather outside, I was getting increasingly warm. 

            "I…I…" I couldn't seem to form words. Finally, I swallowed and offered a weak smile, "I guess you _like_ me too?" 

            A laugh escaped his perfect lips, "Yeah, I guess so." We stood there in silence, staring at each for a moment before I took one step closer to him. And then another.

            "You have no idea how long I've waited for you to say those words," Adam told me, barely above a whisper, "You have no idea." I smiled at him warmly, taking in everything that I could about him. 

            "I think I do now."

            "Sure took you long enough."

            "What can I say? I was a dumb fuck."

            "You have no idea."

            I realized then how long he had been waiting for me to come around and figure out my true feelings. I realized how devoted he was to me even though there could've been a chance that I may not have felt the same way. I realized that he loved me. With everything. And all it took was that one realization for me to realize.

            "I think I do." Our lips met halfway. I love him. 

~*End*~

**I just wanted to thank everyone who read and reviewed my story especially since it was my first shot at MD slash. You guys rock!! Now that I am totally in love with Adam and Charlie being in love, I might make a sequel to this. It was really fun writing this and I hope you guys had as much fun reading it as I did writing it!! (I feel like I'm making the thank-yous inside of a music album…sheesh) I'll see all of you in the next fic!**

**Anne918: **Uh…I don't know? Hehe, well you were right (again). You know, you were always very good at predicting what was going to happen. What are you…genius?

**Moonlight Phoenix1: **Awww thanks! Yeah as I was writing it I was like, "Yeah, he's not like any of the guys at school…" Oh well I can dream, can't I? Pink signs are adorable!! =D Thanks!

**Sphinx the Minx: **Hey! That's a good one! But does that imply that Adam's the female in this relationship? Ah, it probably does since he was the one always waiting around. =D Thanks!

**Chelsea****: There probably will be a catch in the sequel to Jesse and Kori's relationship. But I don't know yet. I mean…they _do go to different school. I'll think about that one. I like skating!! But you have to give me Adam Banks and __then I will go skating. I'll have to talk to Disney about that. "How about I take Adam Banks and you can…skate for Chelsea?" hehe, thanks for reading almost everything I write!! =D_**

**LB: **HAPPY BELATED!!!!!! Yeah, I tried to finish it so that it would be up on your birthday. And look! I actually did accomplish it! Yay for me! Cute dorks rocket my pockets! And that's Jesse! If only I actually had a guy like him…lol thanks!

**Gothic Author: **Awww, that's okay. I understand. I've been extremely busy lately too and writing this fic is like…the only stress releaser I have on me as of right now. That's true about most guys. Anyway, I hope you liked the Charlie/Adam snoggage!

**Thanks to everyone else who has been reviewing regularly and even to those who didn't! YOU ROCK!**

**Luv alwayz,**

**Melody**


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